Judgment Night
by G-ChanSanKun
Summary: AU: Juritsu is used to strange things happening. After all, her father is Son Goku. However, the various battles she's fought hasn't quite prepared her for this. Because never before has she been the center of a mysterious plot that will determine the fate of the entire planet. It's learn as you go, only who's friend and who's foe? GrimmjowxOC. Rated M for all sorts of things.
1. Chapter 1

******Disclaimer: Various concepts and characters have been retrieved from _Dragonball Z_ and _Bleach_ for this story; they belong to Akira Toriyama and Tite Kubo. Please note, however, that the plot, which is an original plot, is unrelated to the events that take place in DBZ and Bleach, meaning this is an AU fic. The OC's and plot belong to myself, and KRenee.**

* * *

**I**

_August, 2011_

Kaisuki took her gaze off a particular water stain on the window and glanced over at the woman sitting beside her. Isolde sat beside her, looking a little less than comfortable with the foreign clothes she wore. Isolde had been wearing the same hooded, black, cotton dress-of-sorts for the past few centuries. The significantly thinner skirt and blouse seemed to be a little too revealing for her tastes. Which was odd, because _she_ was the one who had picked them out. Kaisuki smiled at Isolde as she fiddled with the buttons on her blouse and she smiled back reassuringly when she looked up. Isolde had assisted her in getting her things into the taxi they'd taken, and had then decided to take the ride with Kaisuki – she hadn't been 'outside' in a while, after all.

It'd been a long time since Kaisuki had been willing to room with someone. These kinds of situations had an unfortunate tendency to result in eviction, murder, fleeing the country… sometimes, all of the above and more. Isolde could feel her anxiety. She reached over and touched her hand gently, offering silent encouragement; since they shared a mind and physical body, it was easy to know when one of them was ruminating about something. They could hide things from each other if they wanted to, but they knew each other so well that it didn't seem necessary anymore. It wasn't exactly like there wasn't anything to hide; it was more that they trusted each other enough to not feel the need

Except one of them; Saeka. None of them knew anything about Saeka, the darkest and most whimsically deviant out of all the spirits present in Kaisuki's body. The girl claimed she was the youngest, but Khrai – who was the oldest – seemed to disagree. Kaisuki had never bothered to debate the topic. All she knew was that Saeka had told her to click on the roommate-wanted advertisement posted by 'Son Juritsu,' and Saeka was the one who had told her that they should go for it. She trusted Saeka more than Khrai did, but less than Isolde. Then again, Isolde trusted pretty much everyone and Khrai didn't trust pretty much anyone.

"We're here," Isolde's words suddenly pulled her out of her thoughts. Kaisuki looked up from the water stain and followed her gaze out the window to the apartment complex. Surely enough, a sign in front of the buildings proved that it was the apartment-villa-thing that she had been directed to by Juritsu's emails. It was a nice place and she didn't sense anything dark or otherwise unwelcoming. Not even a stranded spirit was roaming the driving area.

"_We haven't seen any spirits since we got here, though, have we_?" Kaisuki thought, the relatively rhetorical question heard only by the spirits inside. There was a silent nodding of agreement in her head, and Isolde looked over at her as well, looking almost concerned.

"_Don't worry about it_," Saeka's voice was casual, but the hostess was sure she heard a hint of excitement buried deep in her imitation-boredom. Whatever Saeka was looking forward to, she honestly hoped that it didn't involve _too_ much bloodshed. She was finally hoping to get her life together enough to do something that didn't involve mugging strangers in other countries to get by. That was no way to live, and she was sick of it. She was here to get a degree and try to find honest work; not _slaughter_ a dozen people in a bar because _someone_ had too much to drink.

"_Hey, I had a justified reason_."

"_Punching him in the face is one thing; beating him to death is something completely different. We don't live in the dark ages, Khrai_." Sure, Kaisuki was still a little mad about that whole fiasco, but the emotion attached to the memory was fading away.

"3982, right?" The driver suddenly asked as he started to slow down. Isolde caught the ball quickly.

"_4_982." She corrected with a slightly apologetic smile on her face. The driver nodded, pulling forward again. A few minutes later he came to a full stop and put the vehicle in park.

"Here we are, then," he stated, turning around in his seat, "Do you want help with your things?"

"No, thank you," Kaisuki said, pulling out her wallet, "How much did you say?"

As she was handing him the amount he'd asked for, Isolde got out of the car. He popped the trunk and she started pulling things out, borrowing physical strength from Khrai. Kaisuki quickly jumped out, slinging her purse over her shoulder and moving to the back of the taxi to help.

The taxi pulled away a moment after they slammed the trunk shut and waved him off. There was a large tote and a full suitcase set of Kaisuki's belongings – she always forgot how much she owned until she had to move somewhere. She wouldn't be able to carry the tote in by herself – that would probably require Isolde's help.

She glanced up at the apartment, scouting it with her yellow eyes. Juritsu was evidently inside. Well, _someone_ was inside, at any rate. She grabbed a few bags and glanced over at Isolde, "Wait out here for a minute, I'm gonna go introduce myself and then I'll be right back out. Just don't let anybody jack my stuff, ne?"

The brunette smiled and nodded, "I'll be right here."

Kaisuki turned away, hurrying up the four stairs and testing the doorknob, which was unlocked. She hadn't gotten her key from Juritsu yet – she hadn't had an address before today, after all, so Juritsu hadn't been asked to mail the key. She probably should've stopped at management. Oh well.

After a moment of fighting with her bags and the doorknob, she managed to get the door open. A young, tanned brunette stepped out of one of the bedrooms, pulling the door shut behind her.

"Hi," the girl – Juritsu, obviously – greeted her with a casual grin, "You're Kaisuki, right? I'm Juritsu."

Kaisuki actually paused, for a moment unable to take any of her mental processors off the _enormous_ well of radiant energy that she could feel. It was definitely coming from Juritsu. She heard Saeka sigh slightly – not an irritated sound, but a semi-relieved one. Perhaps even a bit of a dreamy tone.

"_Say hello, Kaisuki_." She heard the excited chuckle, and managed to force a smile around the anxious knot forming in her throat.

"Oh, hi! Yeah, I'm Kaisuki." She said, stepping a little further into their apartment and setting her things down on the floor by the couch – she could move them once she'd gotten everything else indoors, "I have a few more things outside, but I'll be right back."

Juritsu nodded, the brief look of confusion (or perhaps suspicion) that had crossed her gaze disappearing in a heartbeat. That two second pause hadn't gone unnoticed. But she seemed pretty happy about this arrangement regardless; perhaps she had never roomed with anyone before. How cute.

"Do you want me to help you with that?"

Considering her vast well of power, Kaisuki was willing to assume that she'd be able to pick up on Khrai's strength as it radiated off Isolde. She felt Khrai immediately withdraw the energy she'd left with Isolde, and she knew that the mother had heard Kaisuki's immediate concern. Isolde was human, even if she was a deceased spirit. The spell that Kaisuki had used to make Isolde both visible and solid to normal humans worked like an illusion more than anything, so she appeared as a living human. Juritsu wouldn't notice anything off about her. Or at least, she _shouldn't_ notice.

"Uh," Kaisuki smiled sheepishly, pretending that she didn't know how physically strong Juritsu probably was, "I guess? I brought a friend to help me out, but the tote I brought is pretty heavy and she's not the strongest person you'll ever meet. You don't mind, right? I don't like asking favors right when I first meet someone…"

"It's not a problem," Juritsu replied cheerfully. Kaisuki smiled at her, leading the way outside. Isolde was standing more or less right where she'd been left, though she had turned around and was staring up towards the sky.

"Aisora?" Isolde turned around, knowing that Kaisuki was talking to her. She turned her attention to Juritsu immediately, looking expectant.

"This is Juritsu. Juritsu, this is my friend, Aisora."

"Hello," Isolde smiled, extending her hand. Juritsu took it politely.

"It's nice to meet you," she said, "Kaisuki said you guys needed help with a tote?"

Isolde chuckled, "It's quite heavy," she answered, gesturing towards the largest portion of her hostess' luggage, "I hope she asked you nicely."

Juritsu laughed lightly, following Isolde's indication towards that tote. She seemed to hesitate for the briefest of moments. Kaisuki wondered what she was thinking about.

"_Where is her power coming from? She comes across as human, but at the same time_…"

"_I don't know_," Isolde replied telepathically, "_I felt it even more strongly when I shook her hand. I think she knows it's there and can probably use it, but I cannot say where she inherited it. It's completely foreign to me_."

Kaisuki nodded absentmindedly, pulling herself back to real time, "I'll get one end, you get the other?" She offered. Juritsu looked over at her, and Kaisuki noticed that she had been watching Isolde. There was no confusion or concern in the gaze she'd glimpsed – just thoughtfulness. It was probably just a coincidence.

Juritsu blinked, and then there _was_ confusion, though only a little. She almost laughed out loud, recalling the first time someone had offered to help Khrai – impossibly strong lesbian elf Khrai – if she wanted help carrying something, and the subsequent "_what do I say!?_" that had ensued. Being ridiculously strong evidently meant that people didn't usually ask if you wanted help carrying things. Juritsu had probably been wondering if her arms were long enough to reach both ends or if she ought to just lift the thing over her head.

Nevertheless, Kaisuki walked over to one of the long end and positioned herself accordingly. Juritsu seemed to have a moment of epiphany, and she looked inwardly amused, as if she was sharing an inside joke with herself while positioning herself on the other side. Isolde picked up the remaining parts of the suitcase set and followed after them. Kaisuki did her best to support her side as obviously as she could, but Juritsu was also effortlessly carrying all but about 5 pounds of the weight by herself. It was more like the yellow-eyed Yurei was supporting the tote rather than carrying it. And Juritsu still looked like she was trying to concentrate on _not_ carrying all the weight.

Juritsu stepped aside after the tote and remaining things had been brought into the house and accounted for, only offering her help again when Kaisuki had to move the tote into the bedroom. The offer was declined this time, and the brunette then offered to cook them all lunch, which Kaisuki _did_ accept.

Kaisuki and Isolde didn't take much time piecing the important parts of the room together. The place was pre-furnished, which she was more than thankful for. While Isolde was making her bed and putting her clothes away, Kaisuki was setting up the electronics – the little things that make noise and lights that Isolde still hadn't gotten the hang of.

Juritsu appeared in the doorway, "Lunch is ready!"

Kaisuki grinned, glancing over at Isolde, "Good, because I'm starving."

Evidently, Juritsu's version of 'hungry' and Kaisuki's version of 'starving to death' were not on the same level. Juritsu had made a _large_ lunch – French toast, eggs, bacon, and orange juice to top it all off. There were dishes in the sink that hadn't been used in the preparation of lunch, and Kaisuki knew immediately what that meant; Juritsu had also eaten breakfast. How could she still be hungry enough to consume something like five loaves worth of French toast, a dozen and a half packages of bacon, and probably several dozen scrambled eggs?_!_ Besides that, how could _anyone_ be hungry enough to consume that much in the first place?_!_

_Holy shit, is she getting __**another**__ plate?_ Sure enough, Juritsu was standing over the stove again, turning up the heat and making more French toast to further satiate her ridiculous appetite. Where did it all go? She probably didn't even weigh half as much as the food she was consuming!

Kaisuki herself had never had much of an appetite, even when she was 'starving to death.' It wasn't even like her roommate was pausing to breathe every once in a while. She essentially just inhaled the food like a vacuum cleaner, eventually coming to a point of politely asking Kaisuki if she was going to be able to finish the rest of her plate, which was at least two servings more than she was capable of eating. The thought that Juritsu had probably given Kaisuki about as much as she expected 'normal humans' to eat made her wonder what kind of people she had grown up with.

Isolde had spent the time they were eating chuckling about Juritsu having the same kind of vortex-stomach that growing boys had. After the devouring had settled down and Kaisuki was returning the favor of lunch by cleaning up the insurmountable number of dishes that Juritsu had dirtied by making _too much God damn food_, Isolde started up idle conversation with the fricken' piranha sitting across from her.

"So, you're a college student, right, Juritsu?" At the brunette's nod, she continued, "Graduate or undergraduate?"

"Undergrad," she replied, and then continuing to sate Isolde's obvious curiosity, "Pre-med. I dunno where I'll go with that, though."

Isolde chuckled, "Let me guess…you weren't entirely up for the whole college thing, but your parents pushed you into it?"

"You could say that… What gave it away?"

"You have that look," Isolde said as Kaisuki turned off the sink and joined them at the table, "Just don't let your boredom get the better of you. There _is_ such a thing as too much fun when you're still young."

Juritsu nodded, understanding the advice, and grinned sheepishly, "Are you staying the night here, or…?"

Kaisuki glanced over at the nearest timepiece, looking mock-surprised. She could see that Isolde, while she was enjoying herself, was starting to get a little worn, "Weren't you supposed to be out of here like, twenty minutes ago, Aisora?"

"Ah!" Isolde looked over at a clock as well, grinning sheepishly, "I lost track of the time. I need to go. It's been nice meeting you, Juritsu."

"It was nice meeting you too, Aisora-san." Juritsu replied. There was the hint in her tone of voice, that Juritsu would've preferred her to stay a while longer and continue chatting. Isolde was the type to go around mom-ing at pretty much everyone. She was easy to miss before she even left the room.

Kaisuki walked to the door with her, giving her a quick hug and accepting a light peck on the cheek. The woman smiled knowingly at Kaisuki, out of Juritsu's sight, and stepped outside. Kaisuki could feel her presence heading out, walking away from the apartment.

She'd walk for a few minutes, and then Kaisuki would pull her back into their shared host body. Hopefully, Juritsu wouldn't notice, however unlikely that may have been.

Kaisuki walked back into the living area, where Juritsu had relocated with her cup of orange juice and a volume of shoujo manga. She walked over to the couch, sitting down beside Juritsu, bringing her knees to her chest and getting comfortable. She hadn't been in a place – in a _home_ – this welcoming and comfortable in a long, long time. She found herself sinking into the softness of the couch, surrounded by warmth and welcome and Juritsu's radiant light.

The black-haired Yurei closed her eyes, sighing softly. She almost didn't notice when Isolde came back to their host body, barely registered Juritsu shifting suddenly beside her. Everyone was getting settled in the new place, reading into Isolde and Kaisuki's memories so they knew where everything was. Saeka, who had been uncharacteristically quiet all day, chuckled softly in the back of the shared portion of their mind, humming a complicated tune. An unfamiliar presence echoed through the darkness of their slumber, a chilling hand reaching forward and a toothy smile appearing at the forefront of memory and dream.

"_It's time_."

…

_September, 2011_

Juritsu placed her backpack on the table, pulling out her binder and a pen with a lighthearted sigh. She greeted her fellow classmates with grins and jokes. Being a particularly small class, they had all gotten to know each other pretty well over the years. Well, know with limits. After all, she didn't really want them to know she was a half-Saiyan fighter.

She'd learned very early on in public education that exposing your extraordinary abilities never ended well. So, she'd learned to hide it, picking up on the mannerisms of her human friends, learning the trends as they came and went, and mastering the art of fitting in. Holding back her strength was always the most challenging aspect of her day-to-day life in college, and while most everyone that knew her had realized and eventually accepted her body-builder strength, that was about the extent of their knowledge of her power. And she intended to keep it that way.

And it wasn't like she even wanted to be in school in the first place. She understood her mother's desires for them to live normal lives, and especially become scholars. But that was more Gohan's thing; he seemed to prefer studying over fighting anyway. Juritsu, on the other hand, would sneak out as a child just to get some sparring in. She wasn't afraid to admit that she was, _definitely_, a daddy's girl.

She'd finish out the degree, as promised, but she had no intention of pursuing anything education-related after that. The only aspiration she had was to become a protector of the planet, galaxy, everywhere, just like her father.

The classroom door opened, interrupting her thoughts, and she glanced over, expecting the professor to come in. Instead, she found herself staring at a rather attractive, albeit unique-looking young man. His spiky, sky-blue hair popped in the neutral-toned room – it matched his bright blue eyes too. He had green markings around his eyes… tattoos, perhaps? They certainly stood out on his tanned skin. From what she could tell through his maroon hoodie and jeans, he was well-built. Likely, he was some kind of athlete.

He glanced over at her, raising an eyebrow for a contemplative moment before he made his way over to her, and sat next to her. She grinned at him.

"You're new here," she spoke first, "Transfer?"

He smirked in reply. "Yea. I'm Grimmjow. Nice to meet you… Is this everyone in the class?"

That was an interesting name. It was most certainly not Japanese. Actually, she wasn't entirely sure _what_ kind of language that name derived from. She'd never heard one quite like it, _that_ was for sure. His Japanese, however, was perfectly fluent, as if he'd lived nearby his entire life. It was intriguing, to say the least.

"Heh heh, yea, we're a small class. I'm Juritsu, by the way."

Just then, the door opened, and a second new student entered. Juritsu's eyebrows furrowed. "Huh… Where are all these transfers coming from?"

Grimmjow snickered. "So much for a small class."

This new student was another male. He was no where near as muscular as Grimmjow; rather, he appeared leaner, but not scrawny. His light brown hair was shaggy, in a neat kind of way, and his ice-blue eyes stood out. Overall, he was a good-looking guy. As he strode past her to sit at the table next from her, he gave her a smile in greeting, which she returned.

"You're a transfer too, huh?" she asked, "I'm Juritsu. Nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too," his voice was smooth, rich, "I'm Chris."

Once again, it was a non-Japanese name. But at least it was more obvious that he was English. His Japanese was fluent too; perhaps the two newbies just happened to really know their foreign languages? She didn't have much time to dwell on it; all the conversations taking place in class abruptly ceased when the professor strode in. There only seemed to be two new transfers, though getting that many in such a prestigious program was intriguing in and of itself. But it was unlikely that it would cause problems.

As she suppressed a sigh at the material they would be covering – this would be the third time someone was teaching them the healing process – she felt a nudge in her side. She glanced down at her side, and found Grimmjow poking her with a folded up piece of paper. Quietly, she took the note from him and snuck it onto her notebook, where she opened it when the instructor wasn't looking.

_So you're definitely gonna be my study buddy right? :p_

Juritsu smiled slightly at that, making sure to hold in her giggles. She shifted her notebook slightly. In its new position, Grimmjow and Juritsu would be able to write little notes to each other without looking too obvious. She scribbled a reply: _I didn't think you needed one. You looked smarter than that, hahaha_

Most of the lecture was spent passing notes back and forth. Juritsu enjoyed the sense of humor and wit Grimmjow had, as it helped to pass the time in lecture.

_So, what goes on here on the weekends?_ Grimmjow asked.

_We usually go out to the bars and clubs nearby. It's a good time. You're old enough to drink right?_

_Does it look like I'm too young to drink?_

Juritsu snickered at that, muffling her chuckles by coughing. _My bad, my bad. Yea, I'll show you where everyone goes to party_.

_Sounds like a plan to me ;)_

Juritsu shook her head at that, not being able to help the smile that tugged at her lips. Grimmjow seemed like he'd be really fun to hang around. She looked forward to taking him out to the clubs.

"That's it for today," the professor spoke up, "Read the chapter on inflammation and the healing process for Wednesday. For lab tomorrow morning, we'll be finishing up this unit and getting started on cryotherapy."

Juritsu gathered her things, standing up and stretching, smiling as she felt several satisfactory pops in her back.

"So, where are you heading now?" Grimmjow asked aloud, catching up to her and walking next to her.

"Nowhere in particular," she replied with a grin, "I'm done for the day. If you're free, I can show you around."

His grin was almost as playful as hers. "I like the sound of that."

Watching the two students walk away was Chris, an unreadable expression in his ice-blue eyes. His eyes narrowed as he noticed Juritsu's bright smile, in response to some witty remark Grimmjow had said, probably. He cursed quietly under his breath before scoffing and heading off in another direction. As he walked up the hill, he passed an extremely pale young man. His shaggy black hair didn't hide his emerald green eyes, and his cold exterior turned off the nearby students. All except for Chris.

"You're new too, right?" he asked cheerfully as the two of them stood in front of each other, "I'm sure you'll look forward to meeting new people. Who knows? You might run into someone you already know."

The pale man's expression remained impassive, his head tilting forward in a minute bow, "We shall see."

…

Her head was _pounding_, and had been since she woke up. She had taken half a dozen migraine pills, but they weren't helping. No surprise; they usually didn't. It did, however, inform her that this headache wasn't caused by lack of sleep or overworking herself. The attack had come on slowly at first, but today it was like she was being beaten on the soul with a sledgehammer. They hadn't been able to identify the source yet, but it didn't seem to be someone she knew. It wasn't Juritsu, it wasn't any of her classmates, it wasn't her professors; it wasn't even the weird otaku in the apartment next door. All she knew was that they hadn't been able to break through her mental barriers yet. She was the only one taking damage at the moment, but whether that was the end goal or not was unknown to her.

Kaisuki glanced over the railing as she trudged up the stairs to her class, spotting a mop of black hair coming up behind her. He was thin and pale from what she could see at her current angle. Not exactly her type, but there was something about him…

"_Keep walking,_" Saeka's voice suddenly snarled from the darker corners of their shared mind, startling Kaisuki a little. She pulled her gaze away from the stranger coming up behind her, continuing up the stairs.

"_What's wrong? You seemed a little adamant just-…_"

"_Shut up and walk._"

Something was definitely wrong with this guy. Kaisuki's mouth went dry; a demon? A demon that had a physical form like that would have to be well beyond her level. Khrai and Saeka might be able to handle him, but that was also assuming that he didn't have friends nearby, and besides that, they were in a well-populated building – there would be too many casualties if they fought here. Was it even a demon? Or a rogue Yurei? A regular serial killer?_!_

"_Calm down,_" Saeka chided, sounding calmer, "_You know better than any of us that anxiety makes you open for attack. Count the stairs._"

_Okay, okay,_ she internally berated herself for allowing such panic, even if it had been minute and only lasting a few seconds. Khrai had told her the danger of allowing emotions to overrun coherent thought, and she had experienced those consequences firsthand already. Even if some of them didn't really _need_ her protection, she had to be vigilant to keep her ladies safe.

"Excuse me," that guy who had been walking behind her suddenly spoke up from a little bit too close. She turned, finding his chilling green eyes both intoxicating and nauseating. Her heart was racing and her head was starting to pound even worse. Was this panic from the knowledge that he was dangerous enough for Saeka to be warning her away, or was it the hollowness in his eyes that seemed large enough to devour her whole? It was like staring into a dark abyss, waiting to be pulled in.

"_Calm down and answer him,_" Saeka's voice pulled her out of her panic, her tone oddly soothing. Saeka was the strongest against evil – probably because she _was_ evil, at least in part. Kaisuki had never been so willing to trust the words of her least trustworthy spirit. Saeka was right, though; the key to staying out of his reach was keeping calm. Her emotions hindered her concentration, and that weakened her mental barriers.

She turned around, seeing that he was a couple of stairs below her, "Yes?" Her stomach was churning, and the headache was getting worse.

"I'm looking for the psychology department chair," he stated, "Hayashibara-sensei told me to come her before class today."

Kaisuki nodded, "I'm actually heading to that floor myself," she stated easily, despite the fact that her vision was spotty from the intensity of her migraine, "I can show you her office."

The guy smiled slightly in appreciation, though the expression didn't look anything close to natural next to his hollow gaze. Kaisuki forced a smile and turned back the way she had been facing originally, giving him a moment to falling into step beside her.

"So, you're a psych major, or are you just taking an elective?" His voice, while it would probably have sounded like melted chocolate and sex to some other girls, was sickeningly sweet and horribly dark. It reminded her of congealed blood and murder, even though his words themselves were as far from the topic as they could be.

"_Tell the truth. Try to pretend that you don't know he's bad news._" Saeka advised quickly, and Kaisuki didn't miss a beat, "I'm a psych major, yea. What about you?"

"I think I'm going into psychology as well," he replied, "That's why I'm seeing a professor, actually."

"You're a transfer, right? I haven't seen you here before."

He glanced over at her, but she didn't return his gaze, pretending she hadn't noticed. The question was innocent enough, and he seemed to be looking for a gap in her acting. There wasn't one to be found; she was a professional at this.

"Yea, last university and I didn't work out so well."

_I'll bet_, she thought darkly, "I hear you on that one."

Finally, they reached the floor of the psychology department. Kaisuki led him over to the department chair's office, "This is it." She stated with a smile, "Hope everything works out for you."

He nodded, the little horrible smile returning as he extended a hand in greeting, "Thanks, uh…"

"Kaisuki," she replied, taking his hand graciously, "And you are…?"

The smile on his face seemed to darken, his gaze shifting to something akin to the hungry stare a wolf gives it's prey before ripping out its throat, "Thad."

It was sudden, like a bomb going off inside her skull. Her eyes widened as she was dragged into her subconscious. The white-washed walled of the lobby area were suddenly dripping with a mixture of black ooze and crimson blood, reminders of all the lives she'd taken. The floor reached up and swallowed her whole, fire licking at her skin and burning her flesh. She gasped, knees buckling, but Thad didn't let go of her hand. His green eyes were all she could see past the black and the red and the pain. She could hear Khrai, she could hear Isolde… but above all the other voices, she heard Saeka, a piercing shriek of rage ringing through her ears as she pitched forward into complete darkness.

"_It's time_," Thad's voice was chilled to the vowels, his tone a warning one and she could hear it over the blackness she was surrounded by, "_Are you coming_?"

But he wasn't talking to Kaisuki and she knew it. She heard voices all around her, strangers, classmates, professors, and she knew she was collapsed on the floor but that didn't matter. Thad was still touching her, rolling her over and pulling her up slightly so he could pretend that he was checking her pulse when he was really strangling her with his presence. She couldn't breathe, couldn't breathe, _couldn't breathe_ and Saeka was suddenly pushing forward, pushing forward, pushing, pushing, pushing, and Kaisuki didn't have the strength to tell her no.

She felt her hand shoot up, gripping a foreign, cold wrist tightly, and she heard a whisper of a threat bubble up from her tight throat, eyes wide and glaring, "_I will tear you limb from limb, __**exile irrumabo**_."

His smile was toothy and full of hidden malice and she wasn't sure how she was seeing it – or anything else for that matter – past the darkness in her vision. The humans gathered around them didn't seem to see the murderous intent, the arousal at the prospect of a challenge. She heard his voice, speaking, telling the professors that he would take her to the health clinic on campus, and she heard a snarl of discontent. Everything seemed to be getting farther and farther away…

"_Fuck off,_" Khrai had pushed Saeka aside and taken the lead. She shoved Thad away, glowered at him with more hostility than anyone in the lobby had been prepared for. A slew of gasps and mutters about rudeness, "_I don't need __**your**__ help._"

She stood up, swaying for a moment, before stalking off, breaking into a run and tearing off the campus. Kaisuki could feel the acute aching and throbbing in every muscle on her body as Khrai ran home, and it wasn't long before the chronic pain became too much for her to handle in her current state. She allowed herself to be swallowed by unconsciousness and faded into the background of their mind.

…

"So this is the Commons," Juritsu explained as they strolled through the building, "There's a dining hall on the bottom floor, and little cafes and the book store on this floor. And then across the quad is the library."

"Ehhh," Grimmjow glanced around, taking in the food court and the bustling students. Briefly, he wondered if this was all really worth his time. Sure Juritsu was intriguing enough, but really, he could find any chick on the street and get what he wanted before the end of the day. Meanwhile, he was pretty sure getting Juritsu to hook up with him would take days, maybe even _weeks_. He wasn't exactly a man of patience.

He looked over at his companion. She was pointing out some other little café or something. When he'd scanned the students in the Modalities class earlier, Juritsu definitely stood out. He immediately considered her one of the more attractive females he'd seen. But there was something different about her. Maybe it was the ridiculous well of power he could sense within her. _That_ set her apart from everyone else he'd seen thus far on campus, for sure. To say that he was simply curious about her was an understatement.

As they rounded a corner, an icy chill went up his spine. Suddenly, he heard the roar of a Hollow in his mind. His step faltered, just barely, and he glanced around, eyes narrowed in concentration. He knew that presence; he'd recognize it even if he hadn't felt it in years. Automatically, that wasn't a good sign. Why was _he_ here? Hopefully, Juritsu hadn't noticed his miniscule misstep, though he considered it subtle enough to not be noticed by any human.

He quickly realized that she wasn't any _normal_ human when she asked, "Something up?"

He blinked, slightly caught off guard by the question, before he quickly got a hold of himself, grinned, and replied. "Nah, nothing big. I just have to take a whiz. Where's the nearest bathroom?"

That was easy. Juritsu chuckled, said something like "Oh, if _that's_ all," and led him to the restrooms. He gave her a slightly sheepish grin – _Sorry, mind waiting for me?_ – before he disappeared into the men's room.

As the door closed, he strolled over to the sinks, glancing at himself in the mirror. He didn't need to adjust his gaze to see the pale, green-eyed young man standing at the other end of the mirror. "I wasn't expecting to see _you_ here of all people, Schiffer."

"There's no need for formality, _Grimmjow_," came the cool reply, "I would much rather be delivering a message to the Heavens than to you."

Grimmjow turned to face the man, a malicious smirk set on his face. "Glad to know the feeling's mutual, _Ulquiorra_. What the hell do you want?"

"The day is approaching," Ulquiorra turned to face him fully, his gaze nothing short of condescending, "You are still… _welcome_ as our Sexta Espada, if you're at all interested in coming home."

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at Ulquiorra. 'Home,' huh. That was a joke if he ever heard one. He felt neither welcome nor at home at Las Noches; he never had, and he never would. In fact, he'd _hated_ being under the rule of Aizen Sousuke. After that man had disappeared from existence, he didn't get out fast enough. And of all the Espada, Ulquiorra was the one he hated the most. Said Espada certainly had some nerve coming to him with the offer in the first place, but it was clear that he was working under someone else.

"Funny you say that, Cuarta. You see, I was just thinking about how much I don't miss any of you. You can go ahead and continue to be someone's bitch until the day you die, but I'd much rather be a free man," he shot back scornfully, not even bothering to hide the malice from his voice. It was a shame that he was trying to stay on the down low, else he'd already have released his Pantera and attacked the little bastard with everything he had.

Ulquiorra wasn't deterred by Grimmjow's hostility; it would've been rather apparent to an outsider that this was a normal conversation for the two of them. He let out a sigh, almost sounding resigned.

"If that is your choice, then you must be warned that any interference in our preparations will be your end." He took a step forward, all but gliding across the air to Grimmjow's side. "Don't forget about this offer. We'll welcome you back should you change your mind…" Ulquiorra sounded odd, like something had changed in Grimmjow's absence that was eating at the Cuarta Espada.

"It's just the two of us now, Grimmjow." With a soft breeze of energy, Ulquiorra was gone.

Grimmjow remained silent for a long period of time, the bustling of the crowd outside fading away. Slowly, his head bowed, fists tightening almost painfully. For the first time in many years, he felt his heart weighted down by the burden of loss. _Just us left, huh…_

His head buzzed, his ears ringing. He glanced up at his reflection in the mirror. The scowl he saw there pissed him off; the glass consequently shattered, falling in pieces across the counter and on the floor. It wasn't until the sound of a banging at the door reached his ear that he realized that his rage was emitting a powerful aura.

"Grimmjow?_!_" It was Juritsu. She seemed to have the decency to not barge into the bathroom. His gaze moved to the door, contemplating the situation. He let out a deep breath, relaxing his shoulders and closing his eyes to quell the anger within. He couldn't afford to lose his cool; not here, not now. There was too much at stake to screw up. Urahara had told him that, after helping him get to the mortal world. Those words he would never forget. Just like he would never forget Ulquiorra's.

Taking another deep breath, he let himself out of the bathroom, grinning at Juritsu. "Hey, sorry about that. What's up?"

Juritsu had an unreadable glint in her eyes as she regarded him for a moment. "Oh… it's nothing… I just felt something… strange. But you're okay, right?"

Not normal at all. He _knew_ it. He rustled her hair, ignoring her protests. "I'm the toughest guy you know, promise," he replied, "Now, you gonna show me around or not?"

She looked only slightly reassured, wearier than at ease as she began to lead him towards the quad, probably to show him where the classrooms were. He had the feeling that she was suspicious about him, but he couldn't really bring himself to care. Deep down, however, the words "the day is approaching," resounded in his head, and for some strange reason, he just couldn't let that phrase go.

* * *

**A/N: This is the re-write of me and my sister's collaboration. KRenee's OC was overhauled in the more recent chapters, so we re-wrote the older chapters to make sure everything works out. I will be posting up the rest of the re-written chapters over the next few days, so please bear with me!  
**

[_**exile irrumabo **_**is Latin for **_**shrunken dick**_]


	2. Chapter 2

******Disclaimer: Various concepts and characters have been retrieved from _Dragonball Z_ and _Bleach_ for this story; they belong to Akira Toriyama and Tite Kubo. Please note, however, that the plot, which is an original plot, is unrelated to the events that take place in DBZ and Bleach, meaning this is an AU fic. The OC's and plot belong to myself, and KRenee.**

* * *

**II**

Faintly, she heard Juritsu's voice, "I'm home!" Kaisuki was still hurting, and Khrai wasn't about to force her forward to deal with her roommate. She was still out of breath, a shakiness running through her muscles and nausea staining the flavor of the water she was trying to drink.

Juritsu only had one class on Mondays, but she had come back a bit later than Khrai had been expecting. Juritsu and Kaisuki had collectively decided to put printouts of their schedules on the refrigerator so they'd know when the other wasn't going to be able to answer a call or a text, or whatever. It had been Kaisuki's (Isolde's, actually) idea, and Juritsu had thought it to be a good one.

She was nearly an hour later than she should've been. Khrai looked up as Juritsu walked further into the living room. The others hadn't been kidding about the well of energy she carried around, and her senses were also heightened – she looked over at her roommate and blinked, looking slightly confused. Khrai was still wearing Kaisuki's appearance, but Juritsu could obviously tell that something was off.

"Welcome back," she replied offhandedly, hating the unsteadiness of her voice. Juritsu glanced over at the fridge in Khrai's peripheral vision, evidently noting that Kaisuki shouldn't have returned for at least another five and a half hours, as she had classes from 8am to 3pm on Mondays, and it was only 10 in the morning.

Khrai slowly pulled away from the sink after setting her glass down. Her throat was burning and her head was _killing_ her. Juritsu watched her almost suspiciously as she made her way back to the living room, falling onto the couch and sinking into its softness. She let out a shaky sigh, closing her eyes tightly as another wave of nausea washed over her.

"Are you alright?" Juritsu's voice was quieter than usual. She was probably watching the volume of her voice because of Khrai's obvious discomfort. It was taking a longer moment than normal to register the question, but when she finally understood the words being said to her, Khrai couldn't help but glare at her for a moment before turning her attention back to the wall across the coffee table from her.

"Yea," she retorted dryly, "_Peachy_, in fact." She immediately felt Juritsu stiffen from the sarcasm and irritation. Okay, that had been pretty rude, and she knew that Juritsu was just trying to be considerate. The girl was a good person, and Khrai didn't want to ruin Kaisuki's relationship with her roommate over a headache and a sour stomach.

"Havin' a bad day," she continued, swallowing down the hostility. The brunette seemed to understand that much, and when Khrai looked up again she had moved around the island that separated the kitchen from the living room and was in the process of turning on the kettle, although she could see that the brunette's shoulder's were still tense.

"Sorry," Khrai managed to continue, "I didn't mean to snap. I don't handle pain well."

"Pain?" Juritsu had turned around to face her, looking over the island, "Are you hurt?"

"N-…nah," the pain was spiking again, and she just _knew_ that her Kaisuki act was going right out the window. "S' just a headache." Were her words starting to slur? This was worse than she thought, wasn't it? She could feel the residual pressure from that attack Kaisuki had sustained, and she knew that the hostess was still being beaten on by Thad, even from this distance. She needed to put a barrier up around the house, maybe put up a dozen in their head and lock Kaisuki back to protect her. She could hear a small whimper of discontent – the Yurei didn't seem to like that idea. _Well too bad. If you're gonna do what you can to protect me, I'm gonna do what **I** can to protect **you**. Get over it._

Juritsu was watching her worriedly; she could feel the intense scrutiny. But that didn't matter; it was now or never. If she waited, she wouldn't have the strength. She felt the brunette roommate walking over, and Khrai could feel her radiating, pure energy. The darkness that was plaguing Kaisuki seemed to wither away at the proximity, and Khrai took the chance.

She pulled back into their mind, reaching through the unconsciousness and finding Kaisuki's hand. The enchantment was a speedy one, rushed because she knew that taking too long would make Juritsu worry. But it would be strong enough to defend Kaisuki until they could figure out a better arrangement. Almost as soon as the hostess had been wrapped in the barrier and thrown as far back into their subconscious as Khrai could manage, the headache and nausea were gone. That attack had been directed at Kaisuki personally, and it was clear that keeping Thad's greasy fingers off her had been enough to boot him back out. She knew he was strong, but for him to have been able to get a tight enough grip on the Yurei as to keep Saeka from throwing him back out…

Something was going on, and it wasn't going to be pretty. She threw a halfhearted glare at Saeka, knowing that the little one knew something, and came back to reality.

She blinked, pinching the bridge of her nose. Juritsu was walking back towards the kitchen to deal with the screaming kettle. The headache was still present, but it was more of a residual ache than an active throbbing. It would be gone soon enough.

Juritsu walked back over with a cup of hot tea, offering it to Khrai. The elf took it gratefully, smiling apologetically at her hostess' roommate.

"Thanks."

The brunette still seemed a bit guarded, but not necessarily distrusting. It seemed more like she was a bit confused as to who she was talking to, exactly. Khrai took a sip of the sweet tea, and let out a soft sigh of relish.

"Let me know if you need anything," she offered, sounding preoccupied, "I'll be in my room."

Khrai nodded slightly, not wanting to aggravate her headache as Juritsu disappeared into her bedroom. Saeka made a soft sound of relief in their head, and Khrai frowned slightly.

"_What's going on, Saeka-nan? You know something, don'tcha?_"

"_Not yet,_" was the cryptic reply, "_I'll tell you soon enough. Promise._"

That had to be one of the most unsatisfactory replies that she'd ever heard. But Khrai knew that pushing and nagging Saeka wouldn't end well, so she pursed her lips and finished her tea in silence, wondering if she'd be given a chance to sneak out tonight and collect herbs that she could use in a barrier spell or seven.

…

_November, 2011_

"Oh, hey!"

Juritsu paused in her steps, glancing over her shoulder at the voice, and found herself looking at Chris as he briskly strode over to her.

She greeted him with a bright smile. "Hey Chris! Used to things yet? It's been about two months now, right?"

He gave her a warm smile in return. "Thanks for your concern. I think I'm getting used to this place pretty well. I moved here about a couple weeks before school, but I really like it here."

"That's good. Have you checked out the places off-campus? There's plenty to do."

"I've been to a couple of low-key bars. I heard about the clubs downtown though. I have a cousin in town; she's been here a bit longer than I have, so she's going to be taking me out this weekend."

Juritsu's grin widened. "Oh really? I'll be going out too. Maybe we'll see each other there?"

There was a strange glint in Chris' eyes; Juritsu wasn't sure what it was exactly, and rather than unnerving her, it only piqued her curiosity. "I hope we do. I'm looking forward to this weekend now," he had a wide, knowing smile on his face, and she giggled. She didn't really know Chris – she'd been spending a little more time with Grimmjow, orienting him to the campus and its features over the past two months – but the few times she had interacted with the brunette, she thought he was pretty cool. He had a charming aspect about him that seemed different from other guys she'd talked to in the past, like it had some sort of sophisticated quality to it. Very suave, indeed.

"Where are you heading now?" he asked her. As she paused to think about it, she adjusted her backpack.

"I'm going to go buy some more notebooks, probably," she replied after a moment, glancing over at him, "Wanna come? Unless you have everything you need, that is."

Chris smiled again. "Sure, I'd love to come."

Juritsu shook her head, chuckling slightly before leading the way. Along the way, her cell phone vibrated in her phone. It was a text:

_Wanna help me buy my crap later?_

Chuckling quietly, and earning a questioning glance from Chris, Juritsu texted Grimmjow back:

_You're so helpless without me :p but I'm more than happy to help._

…

Weeks after Thad's attack, Kaisuki had been released from the subconscious and allowed to attend class as herself, after a long spat of begging and nagging. Khrai had left up the barrier, and Kaisuki could feel the distant pressure of that intruder, but they couldn't get in. The result was mild discomfort, but nothing more. She could live with discomfort.

Khrai had confided her suspicion of Saeka to her, and Kaisuki had understood entirely. Saeka was a little off lately – not as bloodthirsty, which was a good thing, but also more coherent. Normally, she was a yard short of sane, but lately she had been calm and calculating whenever she spoke. Something was going on, and she just wished the black-haired girl would _tell her_ before they got killed or something.

"_I **will**, just be patient._"

"_Would you hold it against me if I took that with a grain of salt?_"

She heard Saeka chuckle as she dumped her bag on the chair next to her seat and sat down, "_No, I won't hold it against you._"

She smiled a little bit to herself. It was a little odd for Saeka to be so _au fait_, but it was also a nice change. Kaisuki was used to mood swings and tantrums and having to tranquilize Saeka on a semi-regular basis. Having that weight off her shoulders was definitely a plus.

The door opened and she looked up, watching other students file in as she reached over to start pulling out her book and notes. The professor had already written the chapter they would be covering today on the board – physiological abnormalities in the brain and DNA of schizophrenic and autistic patients. She looked up as the girl who sat next to her, Akari, took her seat and saw a familiar mop of black hair walk into the room.

Her blood ran cold – _damn it!_ He was in this class with her? Luckily, he wouldn't be able to sit on her right, as that was where Akari sat, and Kaisuki kept her bag on the chair to her left. And she'd be damned if Thad was going to be able to persuade her to move it.

The class dragged on and on and on for what seemed like an eternity. Thad's presence made her both anxious and impossibly tired. His existence seemed to weigh on her like an eight hundred pound dumbbell. The barrier that Khrai had put up seemed to be slowly wearing away, and she didn't notice until the headache became unbearable. Khrai was there in a heartbeat, grabbed her by the spiritual scruff of her neck and switching places with her impossibly fast.

"_Looks like I'm gonna hafta keep you back there for a while, Kaisuki-nan,_" the elf said, expression darkening as she glanced over at Thad – he was sitting a few seats down from her. That filthy little scumbag… she had half a mind to walk over there and start pummeling him right this second.

"_What do you say we do just that?_" Saeka's voice was oozing with hostility, and for once, Khrai openly embraced it.

"_What'd you have in mind?_" She felt Saeka push forward just a little bit, and Khrai allowed it. She heard it more than she felt it, Saeka opening the walls and letting Thad in for the three seconds it took her to deliver a powerful blow directly to his chest. She heard a soft cough that sounded more like a choke and looked up. Thad was pressing a hand to his sternum, his already pale face taking on a ghastly tone. She smirked, cruelly drinking in the pain he was trying to hide. A blow like that from the likes of Saeka wasn't one that anybody to ignore. She wasn't the strongest physically, but her energy took a form much like the talons that replaced her fingers – it was sharp and black and it _hurt_ when she hit.

The professor didn't miss a beat when Thad suddenly stood up, making his way out of the room with shaky steps. Khrai returned her attention to Kaisuki's notes, unable to contain the smile on her face. She didn't know who that guy was, but the bastard had it coming. That much she knew for sure.

…

"You almost done yet?" Grimmjow's voice called from the living room, "The club's gonna be closed before we even get there."

Rolling her eyes, Juritsu finished applying her eyeliner, glancing over at Kaisuki in the mirror.

The dark-haired girl pulled back from the mirror, nodding approvingly at the dark makeup she had applied to her eyes. She returned Juritsu's gaze, looking mildly impressed, "Gorgeous. Where'd you learn to do makeup so well? I thought you were some kind of athlete."

Juritsu blinked, slightly taken aback from the compliment. She didn't remember ever receiving flattery for feminine traits. And it wasn't a big deal; she received plenty of praise for her accomplishments on the battlefield. But this was the first time she'd ever received such a... _human_ compliment.

That was why she found her cheeks heating up, and she quickly averted her gaze to check over the bronzer and look for mistakes. "Ah, well... I kind of taught myself when I was younger..." _in between training and fighting for the sake of the entire galaxy_ "... when I had free time..." _and wanted to see what it was like to act like an actual **girl**._

"For self taught, you're practically a professional," Kaisuki replied, taking her hair out of its messily-clipped bun-thing and pulling it back more carefully, "Are we ready?"

Juritsu also pulled her hair out of her ponytail, tousling it a little bit and wishing she could better control her fringe. Saiyan hair, half or not, always seemed to have a mind of its own. She sighed slightly, feeling a flutter of nerves. It was rare for her to go out with a guy aside from Gohan (on the rare occasion he _went _out), and she quietly hoped that she didn't freak him (or Kaisuki for that matter) out with some unexpected display of power.

Glancing over at Kaisuki, she presented a grin. "Let's go."

Grimmjow glanced over at the duo made their way into the living room, and immediately perked once he took in their looks. Juritsu noticed his eyebrow pique as his eyes slid up and down Kaisuki's figure, and there was some kind of pang, almost like the wind was knocked out of her. For some reason, she felt... disappointed? But why? This wasn't any different than what she was used to.

It was nice that Kaisuki thought her make up was superb, though the demi-Saiyan created a look that wasn't so dramatic and eye-catching. It was the same reason why she picked out more subtle outfits and avoided dresses. She didn't want to catch anyone's eye, really. Because she knew that eventually, they'd find out about her abilities, and they'd very quickly ditch. It'd happened the few times she _had_ tried. So she didn't understand why, now, she was feeling so crestfallen.

But she couldn't let that put a damper on the night. It was a Saturday night. It was time to let loose.

Grimmjow stood up and was facing them fully. He had a lopsided grin on his face. "This is your roommate, right?" he asked, extending a hand in introduction. "I'm Grimmjow. And you would be Kaisuki, right?"

Kaisuki raised an eyebrow at Grimmjow, glancing down at his hand as if it had done something terribly offensive. She didn't take his hand, seemingly making a point of ignoring the friendly gesture.

"Yea, I'm Kaisuki," she replied coolly, looking over at Juritsu and completely disregarding the blue-haired man, "Shall we go?"

Juritsu was _mortified_. Honestly, she didn't think anyone would ever do something like **that**, well, aside from Vegeta. At any rate, she decided it best to remedy the situation.

Grimmjow, who looked slightly dumbfounded - and maybe even a little bit defeated - hadn't even started to move his hand before Juritsu grabbed it and tugged him into a walk. She grinned, covering up her intentions. "Yea let's get going."

Grimmjow stared at her, switched his gaze to her hand, and then back to her, and Juritsu wondered for a moment whether her springing into action was a bad idea. But then a look of understanding crossed his eyes, and he smirked, matching her smile. "Finally," he playfully shot back.

...

Juritsu carefully handed Grimmjow and Kaisuki a shot glass full of liquor, a big grin on her face. "I hope you like cinnamon!"

Kaisuki snorted, throwing the drink back and grinning back at Juritsu, "You ain't got _nothing_!"

Grimmjow nearly shattered the shot glass given to him when he half-tossed it onto the bar. "What was that, a fireball?" he asked nonchalantly.

Juritsu liked drinking - it was fun, and it helped her loosen up some - but it was even better when there were friends who could actually keep up with you. She wasn't sure just how much they'd collectively had, but she did know that the tab on the credit card Bulma had given her on her 21st birthday was well in the hundreds. The demi-Saiyan could only be thankful that the blue-haired scientist was a multi-billionaire, thanks to Capsule Corp.

The next thing she knew, her roommate was drinking straight whiskey like it was juice, and Grimmjow was relaying one of his better nights out - which, he added somewhere in the midst of his story, later turned out to be the most traumatizing nights. Between the buzzing from the alcohol and the flashing lights and the warmth and the music, Juritsu found that she wasn't quite tuning out her classmate's words, but she wasn't quite tuning in. It was rather like she was absorbing it without realizing it, her eyes lazily drifting around, briefly settling on Kaisuki. The girl was watching Grimmjow too, a grin on her face that didn't at all match the coldness she'd presented to him earlier.

The girl's yellow eyes (such a strange color for a pair of human eyes) shifted away from Grimmjow for a moment, settling on Juritsu briefly. They both widened their grins at the same time, and the brunette could've sworn Kaisuki's eyes shifted to the most incredibly brilliant blue she'd ever seen - aside from Grimmjow's, of course. She blinked, her eyes finding Grimmjow again, but not missing the way her roommate's gaze moved over to look over her shoulders, grin fading.

A hand touched her shoulder and she turned swiftly, meeting a pair of familiar ice-blue eyes. "Chris!"

Her brunette classmate had a playful grin on his face as they exchanged a friendly hug. "Looks like you're way beyond getting started!" he teased, and Juritsu laughed. Something about his charm was slightly intoxicating, or was it just the Long Island she had chugged?

"If only you knew," she stuck her tongue out playfully before offering him a fireball, "Shot?"

Chris' grin widened, and he graciously accepted, throwing the liquor back like a champ.

Juritsu glanced over to see on Kaisuki and Grimmjow. Her blue-haired friend was eyeing Chris with some kind of glint in his eyes... what in the world was **that**? It wasn't anger...

"Chrissie!" Out of literally nowhere, a woman appeared from behind Chris, throwing herself at his back, "I didn't know you had _friends_ already!" She practically lifted him off the ground with a bear hug, dropping him back down unceremoniously, and walking around him. Juritsu's jaw would've dropped if she hadn't had the discipline to control herself. This girl was drop dead _gorgeous_. Her form-fitting belly-shirt hugged her in all the right ways, dark denim jeans accentuating her perfectly proportioned hips. She was fair-skinned, and her blue eyes sparkled with feistiness, and she stuck out a hand to the group, grinning and revealing perfect _teeth_. Who the heck was this?_!_

"Hi!" Her eyes swept over the ground, settling on Grimmjow for far longer than was necessary, "I'm Lily, Chrissie's cousin." She aggressively wrapped an arm around Chris' shoulder, only to have him wriggle his way free almost immediately, embarrassed.

"I'm Kaisuki," she heard her roommate say, and the words managed to drag Juritsu back out of her awe-struck almost-staring, "This is Juritsu, and that's-..."

"Grimmjow," her blue-haired classmate received Lily's offered handshake easily, his lopsided grin returning with ferocity that matched Lily's feisty grin to a T. Kaisuki had flagged down the bartender, ordering a special round of shots for them, using a hand-written recipe she had apparently been carrying around. The bartender walked off, and Kaisuki looked up again, paused, and glanced back to the bar, "Make that six!"

Chris and Lily both looked at her, and Juritsu and Grimmjow joined in the bewildered stare.

She cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted, "THAD!" Someone halfway across the floor from them paused in their steps, turning around. Kaisuki grinned, obviously pleased to see she'd been heard.

"Where're you going? Come join us, ya' recluse!"

Thad? Who was Thad? A classmate of Kaisuki's? As he approached, she noticed that he looked... gloomy. Or maybe it was his eyes, vibrant, yet empty. What did _that_ mean?

"Thad," Kaisuki introduced him easily, "This is Grimmjow and this is Juritsu."

He nodded in acknowledgment as Kaisuki explained they were in a psychology class together, "Though you've been absent the past couple of days," she paused, and Juritsu saw the way her eyes flicked to a hot pink for a split second. Last time it was blue, now pink? Was she trashed and seeing things? "Are you feeling better now?"

Thad smiled, though the look was almost strained, "A lot better, actually."

There was a strange kind of tension passing between the two. Juritsu looked away from them, glancing curiously at Chris. Lily had moved away from her cousin, walking over semi-innocently to stand by Grimmjow, leaning over the bar and receiving their round of shots.

"Shots're here!" She held out the tray, allowing each of them to take one of the small glasses, "What're we 'cheers'ing too?" She looked directly at Grimmjow as she said that, and Juritsu didn't miss the over-the-top flirting, even if she wasn't usually the one partaking in it. Who the hell did she think she was? Traipsing into an already-established friendship like she _belonged_ there and...

"Cheers to a hell of a year!" Grimmjow said, raising his glass and locking his gaze with Miss Perfect. Juritsu raised her glass half-heartedly, throwing the alcohol back at the same time as the others. The liquor burned going down, though the peppermint taste left a cooling tingling in her mouth.

"What did you call this shot?" Chris was asking Kaisuki, looking impressed.

"A Minty Fresh," she replied, her grin and friendliness not hiding the chilling gaze she directed. What was everyone's problem tonight? "They used to serve these in my hometown. It was a kind of house special."

Thad cleared his throat, which turned into a coughing fit. He hunched over, pressing a hand to his chest as the color drained from his face. A couple of strangers glanced their way. Chris and Lily both tore their gazes away from their conversational partners (Grimmjow looked more disappointed than worried about Thad's sudden fit the jerk was probably just upset that his new _fling-to-be_ was distracted so easily from his-), Lily moving over to Thad's side quickly.

"Hey, you alright?" She asked hastily, rubbing his back soothingly.

"I-...I'm..." he couldn't seem to catch a breath past his wheezing. Kaisuki suddenly moved forward, touching his shoulder and kneeling in front of him to get a better look at his face. His fit slowly began to subside. Juritsu couldn't help but notice the way Kaisuki's ki seemed to shift when she touched him. Thad looked up at her, an unreadable expression in his eyes.

"I can take him outside," Kaisuki offered, "You should probably get this checked out. Might be serious, y'know? You were coughing like this last time you were in class, too."

Thad furrowed his brow, glancing at Lily and Chris, "I'm fine," he straightened up slowly, but Kaisuki didn't remove her hand, "I can..."

"A cough like that doesn't sound like 'fine.'"

"Kaisuki's right, you know," Juritsu decided to finally speak up; maybe she'd feel less invisible if she did, "I'm sure she can help you flag down a cop or someone to look at you."

Thad glanced over at Chris and then at Lily, but he didn't say anything to them. He turned his attention back to Kaisuki - _her eyes are pink again-... no, they're normal now... what the hell...?_ - and cleared his throat again. It looked like it was painful for him to do so, but he finally spoke, "Very... very well." Kaisuki smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes at all, and placed a hand on his back as a support.

"I'll be back soon," she promised, before walking off with Thad.

"Geez, Thad," Lily suddenly said, "Way to be a buzz kill. Who wants more shots?" She was already flagging down the bartender again, "What do you guys want? Another one of those-... What did she call them? Minty Fresh? Or are we looking for a fishbowl or two?"

Grimmjow spoke up before Juritsu could even think of a response. "Fishbowl sounds good to me," he had a smirk on his face; different from what Juritsu had seen before. It oozed confidence, and it had a sensual feel to it. And she already knew who it was directed to.

Lily grinned at him, ordering two fishbowls when the bartender came their way again. They started chatting, though Juritsu couldn't help but feel more or less excluded from the conversation. Perhaps it was her own fault - she was already feeling a bit upset about Grimmjow practically ignoring her existence. That might've been off-putting for her blue-haired classmate all by itself.

"So," she turned back to face them, looking towards Juritsu with a glint in her eyes that the brunette didn't quite recognize. It was almost competitive, but it was dripping with self-assurance that matched her knowing smirk too well. "Are you two together? You and Grimmjow, I mean. I already know that my dopey cousin is single."

The demi-Saiyan was taken aback. Had they really presented as a couple? "Wh... what...?"

"Nah," Grimmjow cut in, moving closer towards Lily, not even sparing Juritsu a glance. "We're just classmates."

It felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. Just classmates? They'd been hanging out since the day they first met, and they weren't even friends...?

Juritsu couldn't prevent her shoulders from slumping, still reeling from being brushed off like she was some kind of _nuisance_.

She didn't miss the way Lily cocked an eyebrow, an interested smile replacing the taunting smirk she'd been directing at Juritsu, "Oh, so you're a free man, huh...?"

It wasn't long before they started conversing completely separately, Lily only sparing them a glance when the two fishbowls arrived. She slid one over to Chris and Juritsu, keeping the other between her and Grimmjow.

"Juritsu," Chris' voice pulled her hollowed attention away from the drink that had been passed her way, "I'm sorry about her, really. I didn't think she was so low that she'd-..."

The brunette wasn't even entirely listening, just trying to focus on the movement of Chris' lips to distract herself from the duo standing next to her, chatting away and flirting mercilessly.

She spotted them in her peripheral vision, walking away to the dance floor. He hadn't said a word to her. Neither of them had said anything to the rest of their party.

So he really _had_ meant it. 'Just classmates...' If that was really how he felt, he could've just stopped talking to her. That would've gotten the message across without having to humiliate and ditch her here like this!

Her fist clenched. What a waste of time. Sure, she hadn't exactly been trying to impress him; in fact, this was more what she wanted right? Hide her secret, and yet... why was she growing so upset over it?

"Juritsu...?" Chris sounded hesitant. Juritsu almost felt bad, knowing it was her fault this suddenly awkward atmosphere had appeared. At the same time, she didn't care. Actually, it occurred to her, the only thing she really wanted to do at this point was get the hell out of the club and just go home.

"Juritsu-nan?" Kaisuki appeared in her line of vision, uttering an unfamiliar syllable after she said Juritsu's name. She looked alarmed as her flickering gaze swept across the bar. She paused for a second, before turning back to her roommate, "Where's Grimmjow?"

Juritsu squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her fists even tighter. "Grimmjow's… on the dance floor with his _new friend_."

Kaisuki froze, looking for a moment like she didn't quite believe Juritsu. A moment later, her expression shifted to anger, and she turned away, looking out to the dance floor as if she wanted to hunt him down and pummel him.

The thick tension grew too much to bear. Juritsu had to leave, just get away from everything.

Abruptly she stood up, startling Chris and Kaisuki, and pushed through them and the throng of students trying to get to the bar. Fresh air, she just needed some fresh air to clear her head and-

The instant she burst through the doors into the chilly night, she took off, running. The further she got away from that bar and... _him_... the better.

"Juritsu!" A hand encircled her wrist, tugging her to a stop, she glanced over her shoulder, finding...

"Chris?" she asked, slightly breathless as the lump in her throat was starting to suffocate her.

"I really am sorry about Lily-..." he began, and a flare of indirect anger welled up.

"I don't want to talk about it," she half-snapped. Chris didn't falter.

"He made a stupid choice, I think."

… What? What did he mean by…?

Chris smiled warmly, then continued, "It might just be bias, but honestly, I've would chosen you over Lily any day."

Oh. That was what he meant. Juritsu blinked. "You two are cousins."

Chris winked. "That's the bias."

For some reason, she found that humorous, and she giggled a little. Chris' eyes lit up. "There it is!"

"There is what?" She asked after her chuckles ceased.

Chris' smile softened. "That beautiful smile I've been missing all night."

Something fluttered in her stomach, and it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. No one had ever complimented her smile before, not outside of the family. It felt, different compared to when her dad would say it.

Juritsu's cheeked warmed and she averted her gaze to the ground. "Thanks..." she mumbled, unsure of what else to really say.

Chris' hand squeezed hers - had they been holding hands the whole time? "Come on; let's go grab a bite to eat. I think a hearty slice of pizza will lighten things up. What do you say?"

"Juritsu!" She looked up, seeing Kaisuki running towards them. The black-haired girl slowed to a stop beside Chris, "Jeez, don't run off like I that. I got worried when I couldn't find you right away."

Juritsu pulled her hand from Chris', rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Sorry about that..." she chuckled slightly.

Her roommate smiled at her, looking relieved, "Don't worry about it," she reassured, "Are you heading home now, or...?"

It was probably better. She needed to get some sleep anyway. "Yea, I think I'm gonna go to bed," she glanced apologetically over at Chris. "Thanks again."

He looked only slightly disappointed but he smiled warmly nonetheless. "If you ever need to talk, you know where to find me."

"Thanks for looking out for her, Chris," Kaisuki's words didn't match her tone of voice, but perhaps that chilling undertone was simply from her residual anger at _that guy_.

Juritsu decided not to dwell on it, lest her mood go back down the toilet again.

"You'll be alright walking home?" Chris asked, directing his gaze towards her rather than Kaisuki.

"Yea, we'll be fine. I know... a little self-defense."

"Alright. Then I'll see you in class!"

Juritsu waved as he turned and headed off, likely in the direction of his home, and she let the smile fade with a tired sigh. Her bed was calling to her at this point.

* * *

**A/N: This is the re-write of me and my sister's collaboration. KRenee's OC was overhauled in the more recent chapters, so we re-wrote the older chapters to make sure everything works out. I will be posting up the rest of the re-written chapters over the next few days, so please bear with me!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

******Disclaimer: Various concepts and characters have been retrieved from _Dragonball Z_ and _Bleach_ for this story; they belong to Akira Toriyama and Tite Kubo. Please note, however, that the plot, which is an original plot, is unrelated to the events that take place in DBZ and Bleach, meaning this is an AU fic. The OC's and plot belong to myself, and KRenee.**

* * *

**III**

_Late November, 2011_

Juritsu rubbed her eyes tiredly as she shut off her alarm. It had been two and a half weeks since that awful night out with Grimmjow. Rather than inviting him out again the weekends following her ill-fated night – _Grimmjow could find some other chick to ditch_ – she'd continued going out with Kaisuki, who had been more than willing to accompany her and keep her mind off of him.

Throughout this time period of avoidance, there were several instances out on the town when she thought she saw Grimmjow, but she refused to go looking for him, and didn't even try to make herself known. In class, at first, he'd tried to pass notes with her, but she completely ignored him. Now, he didn't even bother. Figured that he didn't really think of them as friends in the first place. Jerk.

Kaisuki seemed to be a nice girl, though Juritsu couldn't shake off what she'd seen that first night they'd went clubbing. She was positive that she hadn't been seeing things, but since then, she hadn't seen any eye colors aside from the normal yellow. Had it been a fluke after all?

Abruptly, Juritsu's cell phone went off; it was a message, from Chris:

_Did you want to meet up and study before the exam today?_

She smiled slightly. Chris had been comforting in his own way, keeping her distracted by keeping her productive. She had to admit, it was a pretty effective method. And she couldn't thank him enough. He'd gone out with her too, though not as many times as Kaisuki had, but he still had become someone she could fall back to, even if she maintained a certain elusiveness around him. She still had to keep her bloodline secret, after all. And he didn't seem to mind at any rate.

_Sure thing! I'll meet you at the library!_

…

Juritsu was having a hard time focusing on the lecture. It was far away, but she could hear it echoing in the depths of her mind; a deep, thunderous roar that occasionally sent chills up her spine with how… malevolent it sounded. She had no clue as to where the noise was coming from. A few times she surreptitiously glanced around the room in the hopes that she'd locate the source, but without any luck.

There was a light ache beginning behind her eyes, and she rubbed her temples, closing her eyes shut briefly to will away the pain. _This must be what a headache feels like_. It was something she'd never felt before, never being ill in her entire life. She felt Grimmjow's eyes on her, and she pointedly ignored him. _I'm being way too over-dramatic about this_, she chided herself. And yet, she refused to do anything about it.

"Friday, we're going to start the thermotherapy unit. Make sure you get your competencies checked off before tomorrow morning, if you haven't already done so," the professor concluded his lecture, and the students began the process of gathering their things. Juritsu closed her eyes, pausing for a moment as her headache surged in pain briefly before fading. The roaring in her head was slowly, yet gradually, increasing in volume, without any kind of explanation as to why.

"Hey," Chris' voice startled her, and she turned to glance over at him. He had a slightly worried look on his face. "Are you alright? You don't look well."

"I'm fine," she reassured him, still sensing Grimmjow's eyes on her, and made sure to make it obvious that she wasn't quite in the mood to talk or hang out. She and Chris had been spending a good deal of time together the past few weeks, but with the headache and the strange voice in her head, she wanted to be alone more than anything. Hastily, she pushed through the lingering students and out the classroom door. For Grimmjow to not immediately leave like he'd been doing after she'd made it clear that she didn't want to talk to him meant that he wanted to talk to her. And, while inwardly she felt a flutter of happiness that he seemed to still want her forgiveness, another part of her still couldn't get past him and _Lily_…

_Why are you still so bent out of shape about this?_! She mentally screamed at herself, _he's not your boyfriend, and sure he ditched, but really, this is absolutely ridiculous!_

His voice behind her startled her, and she glanced over her shoulder to find Grimmjow following her. _Shit…_

Without even thinking, she took off into a run, bursting out into the sunlight, before turning and running down a little walkway to the side of the building. Not many people walked through here; surely he wouldn't think to look for her here. She rounded another corner, now behind the building they had just been in.

"Oi, why the hell are you running away from me?_!_" It was Grimmjow?_!_ Couldn't he take a hint?_!_ Juritsu glanced over her shoulder, completely taken aback at the sight of him chasing her down, and gaining. _He's fast… Dude, just leave me alone! It's obvious I don't want to talk to you!_

Not looking where she was going, Juritsu stumbled a bit, but managed to catch herself. Before she could take off again, she felt him grab her arm, wrenching her backwards. The next thing she knew, her back was to a wall, and Grimmjow's arms were on either side of her. His cheeks were slightly flushed and his breathing had deepened. Beads of sweat were scattered across his forehead. She wasn't particularly tired herself, though at the moment it was hard to remember that she had to pretend like she was anyway.

And the warmth, his warmth, enveloped her, and her cheeks suddenly flushed. He was too close, too close, _too close_!

"What the hell, man," Grimmjow breathed, and Juritsu's blush deepened at the husky sound, skin tingling at the sound of his voice, "You're like an Olympic sprinter."

Whoops… she must've been running faster than she thought; apparently, skirting the superhuman line. And yet, he _still_ managed to catch her. _What the hell? How?_

She averted her glance, her blush unrelenting. "Well… what, did you expect me to stop or something?" she mumbled, moving to duck under one of his arms, "Let me go."

"I don't think so," his body was suddenly pressed up against hers, pinning her to the wall, and she froze. Her heart was thundering in her chest; she was positive he could feel it. _Too close!_ Her ears began to heat up at this point, and she kept her eyes on his chest, inches from her face. She was almost afraid to breathe.

"Juritsu," he was no longer out of breath, his voice quiet. She felt a hand carefully grasp her chin, tilting her head up towards his. She kept her gaze averted, her heart in her throat. She was so nervous, she could feel herself trembling.

"Look at me."

Slowly, hesitantly, her eyes drifted upward, tentatively meeting his gaze. It was weird, seeing him without a grin or smirk on his face. It was even weirder that he had a solemn look in his eyes. It wasn't a look she liked on him at all. That small hint of sadness… where had that come from? Her heart panged for him. It suddenly became clear to her that he was quietly shouldering a burden.

He took a step back; he apparently saw that she wouldn't run away at this point. He let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his head briefly. "Look… I know that you're really pissed at me. I ditched you that night," his bright blue eyes met and held hers, "I'm sorry."

Defensively, almost, Juritsu huffed, crossing her arms and tearing her gaze away from his. "Who _does_ that," she muttered, not willing to forgive him so easily, "I… didn't care… that you wanted to hook up with… with _her_," she was unwilling to say that tra… her name, "You could've at least _said_ something to me. Something even as simple as 'I'm going off with her, I'll text you when I get home'… instead of just walking away like I wasn't even there… And don't even get me started on the 'classmates' crap…" Juritsu was regretting each word as it came out. Really, she was sounding awfully petty. She was being completely absurd.

"I was being a huge ass that night, I know." Grimmjow didn't seem to think of her small rant as petty. "Let me make it up to you. You're done for the day, right? I'll take you out to a diner or something, and you can laugh at me after I tell you how that night turned out to suck balls. Okay?"

Juritsu's eyes drifted to the ground in front of her, unsure of what to think or do. One part of her had stopped being angry with him a while ago, and actually missed his company. Another part of her still didn't want to let it go, why, she couldn't understand. How could he choose Lily over her, anyway? What did Lily have that she haven't, besides the flawless skin, the perfect proportions, the seductive everything…

"Look… I don't know if this means much to you but… I really do consider you a friend," Grimmjow's voice once again reached her ears, and the tone of his words caused her to look up at him. There was a loneliness there that she'd never seen before, and it darkened the color of his normally bright blue eyes. He almost looked desperate for forgiveness, in a subtle, less-frantic sort of way. Was he… alone? The urge to comfort him was overwhelming.

_I can't stay mad at you…_

"F… fine," her cheeks flushed slightly, and she averted her gaze, slightly embarrassed, "It's fine."

Why she couldn't bring herself to look at him, she didn't quite know. Maybe she didn't want him to see what she realized, looking into his eyes. Was it pity that she felt for him? _No…_

The image of her father's proud smile appeared in the forefront of her mind, and she couldn't help but smile fondly. She was pretty sure Grimmjow thought she was a freak for it, but she didn't care. She couldn't really call herself 'normal' anyway. But she understood the loneliness, at least a little.

A hand suddenly appeared in her vision, and she glanced up to find that he'd been offering it to her. He had a grin on his face, softer than what she was used to, but she felt a small wave of relief that at least his smile was back, regardless of how shallow it was.

"Ready to go then?" he asked. Smirking and shaking her head in reply, she took his hand and allowed herself to be led back towards the quad.

…

Juritsu took a tentative sip from her chocolate milkshake, her gaze focused on watching the people walk by the window outside the diner. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to glance over at Grimmjow, suddenly feeling self-conscious about her looks and appearance. Was her fringe messier than usual? She _knew_ she should've worn a cuter blouse to class… The nagging voice in the back of her head had very suddenly decided to remind her that this little outing very much resembled a _date_. Like hell it was, she mentally countered, this is Grimmjow apologizing for the one weekend. She was blowing absolutely _everything_ out of proportion, wasn't she?

"Hey," her blue-haired classmate's voice startled her from her thoughts, and she blinked, impulsively glancing over at him. He seemed to be watching her intently, and she furiously fought back the blush that wanted to color her cheeks for what felt like the thousandth time that day.

"Is it good?" he continued. She had to ponder what he meant for a brief pause before she realized he was referring to her milkshake. He'd ordered a simple cola.

"Oh… yea, it is. Wanna try some?" she pushed it across the table as an offer. He stared at the drink, surprised for a moment, before he took a sip.

"You're surprisingly laid back about that kind of thing," he remarked after agreeing about the tastiness.

"What kind of thing?"

"I figured only couples shared drinks like that."

She couldn't fight the blush that crept up this time. Was that really a couple's thing? She always shared her food and drink with Gohan and Goten, and Trunks when he came over – Vegeta never seemed to be one for friendly interactions, at least, not without being friendly in his warped way. She never thought of it as ridiculously intimate. So, the only thing she could say in response was "…Oh."

Grimmjow smirked. "What, you're saying you've never had a guy share his drink with you?"

Juritsu gave him an affronted glare before switching her gaze to out the window, once again. "That's none of your business," she muttered, the flush on her cheeks relentless, "What's it to you anyway?"

Grimmjow chuckled. "Hai, hai. Then, here," he pushed his drink across the table towards her, "Have some. Fair's fair, after all."

Juritsu eyed the glass of cola for a long moment. It wasn't like she'd never had cola before. Really, this was all turning into an unnecessary, embarrassing mess! But still, she found herself hesitantly taking hold of the straw and sampling the soda.

She pushed the cup back over to Grimmjow, gaze averted in embarrassment. "It's good," she mumbled, "Thanks."

"No prob." That response came easily enough. Obviously he didn't take _anything_ seriously, did he? Before she could think much else of it, the waitress arrived, bringing their meals with them. Sticking to the American-style theme of the restaurant, they'd ordered burgers and fries – cheap, yet filling enough. To Juritsu, this was more of an ultra-light snack, but she wasn't about to reveal that to her blue-haired companion anytime soon.

"So, anyway, I said I'd let you laugh at me by telling you how my night went down the shitter," Grimmjow spoke up after popping a fry in his mouth, "To start, let me say that it was more uneventful than you probably thought it was."

"I didn't think conquests were really eventful," Juritsu coolly shot back, making it clear that she didn't like the change of subject. Lily was the last thing she wanted on her mind. "Unless of course, you're more of a foreplay kind of guy."

"Ouch…" Grimmjow replied, making a show of wincing at her comment before he continued, "We didn't hook up, if that's what you mean."

This caught Juritsu's attention almost immediately. "Ho? Really?" _So you ditched me even when you probably would've had a better time staying, huh?_

"Firstly, I don't particularly like one-night-stands in public places," Grimmjow went on to explain, "I usually bring a girl back to my place, where it's more private. That way, she can scream as loud as she wants, and I don't have to worry about someone finding us-…"

"Like I _want_ to hear _that_, Grimmjow," Juritsu cut in, rubbing her temples. The headache was coming back, with a bit more vigor than before. The roaring voice in her head was beginning to crescendo.

Grimmjow snickered at that. "I figured I'd provide some background info. That way, the story will make more sense. Anyway, I wanted to go get something to eat before I took Lily back to my place, but she was like, dead set on doing shit right there in the club. It was kind of weird," he added thoughtfully, "She acted all cute at first and stuff, but when I started trying to get her to leave and go home with me, she changed. Like, she started acting like a freakin' Dom. So I gave up and ditched."

The roaring was incessant. Juritsu attempted to ignore it. "You know, you came across as the kind of guy who'd do it anywhere, at any time of day," she replied jokingly, though her voice came out a tad strained.

Grimmjow scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I have _some_ standards…" he made to shoot back, but his voice trailed off. She felt his eyes on her, studying her intensely. "Hey… you feeling okay?"

She hadn't realized that her posture had completely changed in the span of seconds – she was too focused on trying to hear Grimmjow's voice through the screaming in her head coupled with her throbbing temples. She found herself hunched over, cradling her head in a hand that simultaneously rubbed her eyes, which were shut in pain – she saw flashing colors on the inside of her lids.

"Juritsu?" she jumped, startled when she suddenly felt Grimmjow's hand gently press against her forehead. She looked up at him, and instantly regretted it. The lights in the diner were positively _blinding_, and she whimpered, cringing slightly at the sudden spike in ache. As he gently pressed his hand to her forehand, she unwittingly leaned into his touch, wishing the contact could just _will_ it away. He had a look of concentration on his face.

"I don't think you have a fever," he thought aloud, "What's wrong? Headache?"

She doubted that he'd believe her if she said "there's a voice roaring in my head," so she decided to keep that little detail out. She nodded mutely, the normally simple movement feeling to her like a Herculean effort.

He looked thoughtful for a moment before flagging down the waitress and handing her a wad of cash and telling her to keep the change. Juritsu didn't pay much attention, as her vision began swimming from the pain. _What **was** this?_

Her head hurt too much for her to jump when she felt his arm slide around her back, carefully pulling her to her feet. She leaned against him, clutching onto his shirt to keep herself upright.

"Come on, let's get you out of here," his voice reached her ears somehow, "It's weird how it came outta nowhere though. You get headaches like this often?"

"No… I'm sorry…" she mumbled as he helped her out the door.

"For what? Idiot, this isn't a big deal. Obviously your health is slightly more important than burgers and fries," he grinned reassuringly at her, "You just get to make it up to me another day."

She was glad that he wasn't angry with her over the sudden turn of events, but she was beginning to grow worried. Never before had she ever gotten a headache, let alone one of this severity, out of the blue. More importantly was the issue of the voice in her head. Who, or what, was it? Why was it there in the first place? She'd never heard _that_ before in her entire life.

_That's right…_ she suddenly remembered, _the full moon's only a few days away_. Was the roaring some sort of manifestation of _that_ form? And if that was the case, why did it only start occurring now? Did it have something to do with her age? Somehow, however, she had the feeling that the strange voice in her head was foreboding of something much bigger than just her condition if she looked at the full moon.

She suddenly grew aware of her surroundings. Grimmjow was helping her lie down in bed, covering her with a warm blanket. Was she back…? Cracking her eyes open, she found herself staring at him. He had a slightly concerned expression, though to her, it looked more contemplative than anything else, as if he were trying to figure out the origin of her sudden affliction.

"My place was closer, so I brought you here. You're in my room," he informed her, his voice quiet to accommodate for her migraine, "Take a nap for now. I'll take you back to your place when you wake up. I might have Ralph look at you too."

"… Ralph…?" she breathed, eyes slipping closed once again.

A hand gently ruffled her hair. "He's my roommate. He's a resident at the nearby university hospital, studying abroad from America, I think. I'm sure he'll have a better idea of what's wrong with you."

The gesture soothed her, even through the pain and noise, which surprised her. _For someone with such a rough exterior, he's pretty kind_…

Although the shrieking in her head had started to frighten her, his presence helped to comfort her enough to slip into a dreamless sleep.

…

"I'm home," Juritsu called as she let herself into the apartment. Kaisuki looked up from her spot on the couch, looking pale, worn, and exhausted.

"Hey," she greeted, her voice sounding thick and tired, "You were gone for a while…"

"Yea, sorry… I'd gone out for lunch, but I ended up taking a nap at Grimmjow's. I… wasn't feeling very well," Juritsu crouched in front of Kaisuki, scrutinizing her condition, "You okay? You look awful. I can make some tea, if you want."

There was a strangely long pause, Kaisuki's yellow eyes glazing over for a moment, and Juritsu saw them flick to that bright blue, and then a following hot pink – she hadn't seen _that_ since that night at the club… and there was no blaming the shift on alcohol this time. Kaisuki frowned, her eyes having settled back to yellow, a look of sudden realization passing her gaze.

"You weren't feeling well?" She looked genuinely worried (and seemed to have completely missed the question that had been directed at her), but the brunette couldn't help but notice the way her gaze seemed distracted. She would be looking at Juritsu one minute and then simply looking in her direction without seeing her a moment later. It was definitely not normal… did it have something to do with the changes in her eye color?

"Um... yea, just got a little sick," she replied slowly, still trying to figure out the explanation to the eye colors. She always managed to catch a sense of _something_, but it was so fleeting, it was impossible to tell if it had been a ki signature or not. "I feel fine now though."

Her roommate blinked, her jaw tightening. There it was again; another flicker of pink! Kaisuki lowered her gaze slightly, looking thoughtful for a long moment. This time, Juritsu clearly saw the way her eyes switched from yellow to blue to pink, back to blue, and then back to pink, before finally settling on yellow again. It was so much more obvious when she was actually looking for it, and the ki blips seemed more pronounced when she was searching for them. What the heck was going on?

Abruptly, her roommate bowed her head forward, pressing her fingers against her closed eyes, "I'm... glad you're-… feeling better..." she ground out past clenched teeth. A shudder ran through Kaisuki's shoulders, before she stilled again and pulled her hands away from her face, though she didn't lift her head back up.

Just what in the world was going on with Kaisuki? "Y-yea... hey, you don't look well," she tried to be gentler about it; last time she'd asked about her condition, the yellow-eyed girl had snapped at her, although she'd apologized for it shortly after. Still, the half-Saiyan couldn't help but feel as if there was more going on underneath the surface.

"I don't feel so hot, either," she mumbled in reply. Kaisuki's shoulders were stiff as boards, her entire posture speaking of excruciating pain.

Juritsu felt slightly helpless. No signs of injury - a senzu bean would be useless in this situation. But clearly something was amiss for her roommate to be suffering as obviously as she was. The question was, just what was it? "Is there anything I can do?" she asked, wishing she knew the cause of the ailment.

Kaisuki shuddered again, lifting her head slightly. Her eyes were flickering again as she looked at the brunette; the expression she wore was helplessness and miserable, and Juritsu couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt that she couldn't do anything.

"No, there's..." she paused, blinking, and restarted her sentence, "A-actually, can I borrow your hand?"

It took her a minute to process the question. "Wh... oh, yea, here," slowly, Juritsu reached out her hand, holding it in front of Kaisuki and waiting to see what happened next.

Her roommate gingerly took her hand in a firm hold, bowing her head again and closing her eyes. There was a pause, silence passing between them. Suddenly, she felt a chilling, pulling kind of sensation in her chest, and she heard a voice that sounded much like Kaisuki echoing in her head.

"I pray to ye, my lady," it chanted, "By your powers of three times three, let him burn, let him freeze." It repeated itself several times, until the odd feeling in her chest disappeared entirely and Kaisuki let go of her hand. She was left with a sense of vertigo that lasted a good two minutes as she sat in front of her roommate and collected her spinning vision.

"Thank you," Kaisuki's skin was returning to its normal pallor, her yellow... blue? They weren't switching back this time. Bright blue eyes that were sincere, and foreign, and...

"Who's cooking tonight?" The blue flicked back to yellow again, and if Juritsu hadn't just seen the same thing happen a dozen times, she would've called the whole ordeal of eye color a hallucination.

Besides that, what the heck just happened? Let him burn, let him freeze? What did that even mean? Had that actually been from Kaisuki? She wasn't about to let this slide; it was too weird, and as she looked directly at her roommate, she could see that Kaisuki knew she was about to start asking questions. The gaze wasn't hostile or threatening… just expectant. Hopefully, this wouldn't turn out to be another episode of fighting to defend the planet/galaxy/universe.

"Why did I just hear your voice in my head," she deadpanned.

The girl paused, before chuckling, "Uh, how do I explain this..." she thought for a moment before continuing, "Physical contact can grant a person a lot of liberties, if they know how. For example, by touching your hand, I can invite you into my mind and slip into yours so that we share immediate experience with each other. You heard my thoughts as I was thinking them, just like I felt your discomfort as you were experiencing it." She spoke about it nonchalantly, as if she hadn't just admitted to busting into Juritsu's mind without permission. The brunette blinked as the implications of that suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks, and she found herself anxiously wondering if Kaisuki had seen (or heard, or whatever) her heritage - her _secret_.

The black-haired girl smiled reassuringly, obviously having noticed the alarm in her roommate's expression, "Like I said, if you weren't actively thinking about it, I didn't see it, feel it, hear it, or whatever. So, no, I still don't have a clue what you're talking about when you say 'medial linear muscle' thing or whatever."

She could've laughed at that. No, Kaisuki had no idea, thankfully. "Your eyes keep changing color," she decided to mention. Might as well bring it up now.

At that, Kaisuki started, eyes widening slightly in surprise, "Changing..." the girl muttered a soft curse that didn't escape Juritsu's hearing. Clearly, her roommate had some secrets that she was also keen on hiding. "Well, _that_ isn't something that I have permission to tell you. You'll find out soon enough, probably."

"Right..." That definitely meant she was hiding something. Juritsu decided not to press. She was keeping her own secrets, and besides that, Kaisuki hadn't shown any real signs of suspicion. She'd keep an eye out, discreetly, and maybe she'd be able to figure things out from there. "Want some tea?"

"Uh, tea... yea, sure. Do we have peppermint?"

...

_Hey, are you free this weekend? I need to talk to you._

**Message Sent**

**New Message**

_Yea sure! If it's you, sis, it's not a big deal if you come over._

* * *

**A/N: This is the re-write of me and my sister's collaboration. KRenee's OC was overhauled in the more recent chapters, so we re-wrote the older chapters to make sure everything works out. Enjoy!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

******NOTE: ALL OF THE CHAPTERS PRECEDING THIS ONE HAVE BEEN MAJORLY REVISED. If you don't want to find yourself completely lost like wtf is going on, then I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you go back and read this story again from the beginning!**

* * *

******Disclaimer: Various concepts and characters have been retrieved from _Dragonball Z_ and _Bleach_ for this story; they belong to Akira Toriyama and Tite Kubo. Please note, however, that the plot, which is an original plot, is unrelated to the events that take place in DBZ and Bleach, meaning this is an AU fic. The OC's and plot belong to myself, and KRenee.**

* * *

**IV**

_December, 2011_

"Going out of town for a night?" Grimmjow repeated back as he and Juritsu strolled across campus. Friday was an extremely easy day; neither of them had classes, and all they had to do was attend their clinical assignments.

"Yea, I'm going away overnight tonight," Juritsu replied easily, "I have to take care of some family stuff."

"Everything okay?" Juritsu glanced over at him, blinking in surprise at the slight concern. Over maybe she had imagined that, as she found herself looking at a more curious than worried expression.

"Huh? Oh!" she gave him a reassuring smile, "Everything's fine. I just gotta talk to my brother about some things. But I'll be back tomorrow. I'll probably be up to going out to the bars."

Grimmjow grinned. "Good. Does your brother party?"

"Nah, he's a mama's boy. He prefers studying."

Her friend snickered at that, and it wasn't too much later that she went their separate ways, Grimmjow having to travel a little further and closer to downtown.

Juritsu let herself into the apartment, not bothering to say anything. Living with Kaisuki the past couple of days had been extremely tense. Since she was feeling more on edge than usual due to the full moon, Juritsu had decided it best to avoid any straining interactions. She didn't want to lose her temper – when the full moon was looming, she tended to have a looser grasp of it – and get into a fight. Instead, she went to her bedroom, where she packed an overnight bag with the necessities. As she gathered her things, she briefly mused over the questions that had been bothering her for the past several days. _Something_ was going on, and she had a feeling that she needed to get down to the bottom of things soon.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was a text message from Grimmjow.

_Ralph doesn't believe me when I say you're feeling better. _

She chuckled a little. She remembered how she'd woken up, disoriented at first at the foreign surroundings. A noise to her right had alerted her to a presence, and she glanced over, finding Grimmjow. He'd been lounging in his desk chair, apparently dozing. The door had opened, and a young man had entered the room. He had sunkissed skin, almost the same shade as his dirty blonde hair. His Venetian blue eyes stood out; she had to stop and admire the beautiful color.

"How are you feeling?" he'd asked, and she could only blink in confusion. "Oh, I'm sorry. My name's Ralph. I'm Grimmjow's roommate. Nice to meet you."

She'd learned that he was a resident trauma surgeon at the hospital nearby. He was from America – "California, actually" – and had come to Japan as a study abroad program, or something to that effect. He'd never told her what'd caused the headache, and she'd refrained from telling him about the voice in her head. But she felt she owed him, regardless.

_Tell him I said thanks =)_, she replied, sending the text immediately before grabbing her bag and leaving the room.

She glanced around, seeing no sign of Kaisuki. The closed bedroom door made it obvious as to where her roommate was. Deciding it was best to let her rest, she headed towards the door.

"I'm going out of town," she called, "I'll be back tomorrow!"

With that, she walked out of the apartment. After making sure no one was around, she took off into the air, flying at a fast pace towards the university her brother attended, on the other side of the country. She knew she was making good time, but she wanted to make sure that she was indoors when the sun finished setting. Better to be safe than sorry, after all.

…

"How're you doing?" Gohan walked into the small living room, carrying a tray with two cups of steaming tea. Juritsu was lying down on the couch, one hand pressed to her temple as she kept her eyes trained on the ceiling. Her head was buzzing, and her body was tense, her half-Saiyan blood boiling. All these sensations were things she'd always felt since her tail had finished growing out years ago. Past the buzzing in her head, however, she could still hear the roaring voice.

She kept her gaze steadily pointed to the ceiling, feeling Gohan sit next to her, above her head. She adjusted her position slightly so her head rested against the side of his thigh "It never really gets any easier, does it?" she replied. Her twin chuckled at that.

"I don't think so," he replied, handing her one of the cups, which she accepted with a brief, grateful smile. Gohan had always known how to cheer her up best, but it certainly was to be expected. She and Gohan had been inseparable since birth, after all.

Juritsu watched the liquid as she swirled the cup around. "Do you… do you remember what it felt like? During the full moon?" she asked.

Gohan thought for a moment, "I don't really remember much," he replied, "But I remember my head buzzing. And then I looked at the moon, and everything went blank."

Juritsu remembered that night all too well, when she and Gohan had been doing survival training. It had been the first time he'd made such a transformation; if it hadn't been for Piccolo, she probably would've been killed by her brother. It was one of the scariest experiences in her life. "Did you ever hear a voice?" she replied, "Like a roar?"

"No, I don't think so… why, are you?" Gohan straightened up, looking over at her. She could see the sudden mixture of surprise and worry in his eyes, and she almost regretted asking him. Neither of them liked it when the other was hurting, and usually they had no hesitation coming to one another when they needed to. Sometimes, however, Juritsu felt guilty, not liking how she'd weigh on Gohan with her burdens.

She knew he'd never say that – if the situation had been reversed, she would've done the same thing – though sometimes, knowing that anything out of the ordinary could be a threat, she felt bad. He had Videl now, and it wouldn't be long before those two were married. Soon enough, he focus his efforts towards his family, perhaps put together a normal life for himself. And she didn't want to take that away from him.

"It's weird," she paused to take a sip of tea, relishing in the warmth it provided. The words came out without thinking much about it. "It started a couple of days ago, and it's gotten louder the closer to the full moon we got. I had a headache, a really bad one too, one day. It was awful."

"Have you told anyone else about it?"

"No, I didn't think anyone would believe me."

"What about Vegeta? He had his tail for a really long time, but unlike Dad, he remembers things from when he lived on Planet Vegeta. He might be able to help out."

Juritsu nodded, wondering why she hadn't thought of that. "I'm still worried. What if it's something completely different? And where is it coming from?" she asked, glancing up to meet her brother's concerned gaze. "A lot of strange things have been happening at school. I think something big is about to happen, but I don't know what it could be."

"I wish I could help more," he replied apologetically, the two of them falling into a comfortable silence as they each fell into their own trains of thoughts. Juritsu briefly considered Gohan's suggestion of going to Vegeta for advice. Personally, she wasn't sure what to expect. It had taken him a while to move on after her father's death initially, though he'd eventually come around, especially after her father had returned and after defeating Buu. Regardless, she'd never approached him seeking out advice regarding the more normal things. No, she went to his wife, Bulma, for that. Usually, she'd gone to him for training tips and sparring. She couldn't imagine how he'd react to her request this time. Nevertheless, she'd still find him and talk to him on the way back to her school.

"It's fine," she spoke up suddenly, registering what he'd said finally. He blinked, glancing at her. She gave him a warm smile, "Just being here helps."

Abruptly, her phone vibrated, and she opened it, discovering a text from Grimmjow.

_Everything good?_

Her smile widened, her heart only briefly fluttering, the sensation strange to her, especially with how it came out over top of the buzzing in her head. But it wasn't an unpleasant feeling; she kind of liked it. Grimmjow's concern made her feel even more reassured. He had his aggravating moments, but underneath that, he really seemed like a good guy.

"Who's that?" She heard her brother ask, genuinely curious. They'd never given each other a hard time over the people they grew interested in, each knowing that the other had enough common sense to make the right choices. Still, they had the unspoken promise that they would unwaveringly support each other through thick and thin, no matter what. That connection she had with her brother had helped push her through many trying times, and for that, she would forever be grateful to him.

_Everything's good. I promise. So I'd better not find that you have a head of gray hair when I come back._

She grinned at Gohan as she replied, "He's a good friend."

Gohan chuckle slightly at her good-natured expression and smiling back at her in return, and the two of them continued to share a companionable silence, not needing any further words to communicate with each other.

_Heh, smart ass. I'll see you tomorrow._

…

"_Why_ are you asking me such a strange question?"

Juritsu rubbed the back of her head, cheeks slightly pink in embarrassment as she fidgeted under the bizarre look he was giving her. Sure, Vegeta wasn't a jerk, but he wasn't all warm and fuzzies, and never had been either.

Currently, she was sitting at the table in the kitchen, chair turned to face the counter he'd been leaning against. She watched the Prince of Saiyans as he took a drink from the can of soda he'd pulled from the fridge after tossing one to Juritsu. A damp towel rested around his neck; she'd come by while he was in the middle of training. Though he was a little disgruntled with the interruption, he still stopped what he was doing to talk to her, which she silently was grateful for.

She'd hoped that simply asking "when you had your tail, did you ever hear like a shrieking in your head?" wouldn't come across as _too_ odd, but she supposed that she should've known better. She _did_ come to his place out of nowhere. Most likely, he assumed that she had an urgent situation of some sort, what with her anxiousness rolling off her in waves.

She glanced back down at the frigid can in her hands, watching the droplets of condensation trickle down the aluminum sides. "Please don't think I'm crazy," she pleaded, knowing she was further confusing the man rather than clarifying anything.

After a long pause, he slowly replied. "Tell me what it is that's bothering you, exactly, and I'll consider it."

That was hardly reassuring. But there wasn't really any going back now. "It's just that, I was hearing this voice in my head, like a constant roaring, and it seemed to be coinciding with the full moon, because it was loudest last night, and today it's not as bad… so I thought that maybe it was _that_ form, or something, maybe like, calling out to me or something. Or maybe it was something that began when you hit a certain age or something, if you still had your tail. You know?" She was rambling, she knew, and she was beginning to wonder if she was starting to test the pureblooded Saiyan's patience.

Hearing herself talk, it was like she was vomiting words out of her mouth without any control, like a child, or a teenager gushing about her first crush. And she already knew that such behavior always grated on Vegeta's nerves. She felt kind of bad for her little panic attack right there, and she was beginning to wonder if all of this was her blowing something out of proportion.

She fell silent, willing herself to _just shut up_ for a moment and wondering if she really was coming across as completely insane.

"If you're so concerned, why don't you just cut off your tail?" the prince asked. His tone of voice implied that he didn't understand why she didn't just think of that instead of coming to him desperate for advice.

She glanced back over at him, feeling her tail tremble slightly, wrapped around her hips. "Doesn't that hurt?" she protested, "And, I mean, I've never heard this weird voice before. I've never had any problem with my tail, you know that. It started when this past full moon came up, so I just wanted to make sure…" _that it was normal_, she couldn't bring herself to say, _that **I'm** normal._ More than the voice itself, she was afraid that something was wrong with her, especially something that she didn't know exactly what it was.

Vegeta's intense, dark gaze was scrutinizing her, and she almost wanted to curl into herself. Conversations with Vegeta that entailed her being concerned always ended with him either seeming to genuinely care enough to not be judgmental, or for her issue to be so ludicrous that he'd be all condescending and ridicule her. And she'd yet to figure out which conversations would get which reactions out of these.

This particular conversation was no exception. She knew that he never went out of his way to intentionally hurt her, and while he never came across as being _extremely_ fond of her and her brothers – they _were_ the spawn of his archrival, after all – he'd still sort of assumed a father-like role for them in the seven years that her father was dead. Even now, with her father alive again, she still thought of him as a second-father or an uncle.

"I don't recall any records of Saiyans hearing such a thing in their heads during the full moon," he eventually replied, and Juritsu felt her blood run cold, "The only exceptions were the mentally unstable."

_So I'm mentally unstable, huh_, Juritsu thought as her shoulders slumped, not entirely sure how to take the news exactly. Was she really psychologically impaired, or something? How? _Why?_

"Juritsu." Vegeta's stern voice snapped her out of her thoughts, almost startling her, and she glanced up at Vegeta. His face was calm, sort of impassive, and in its own way, it soothed her nerves and effectively ceased her spiral into despair.

"You are _not_ mentally unstable, and do not even begin to let such a ridiculous thought cross your mind, you absurd child."

Well, time for the ridicule…

Though to her surprise, the ridicule never came. "When did you start hearing this voice?" he continued, voice slightly softer now that he'd finished his brief lecture. The question caught her off-guard slightly. She hadn't been expecting him to be curious about her strange ailment.

"Well, it started three days ago, on Wednesday. At first, there was a headache that spiked when the voice got really loud, but that went away after I almost passed out in a diner…"

"Almost passed out in a _diner_?"

"… The voice stayed though, and it kept getting louder until yesterday, when it was its loudest. Today it's still there, but it's quieter. I think it might be gone by the end of next week."

Vegeta nodded, looking thoughtful. "And you said you had a headache?" Juritsu nodded. "Did anything strange happen before the voice started?"

"I mean, not really. After I went home that day, my roommate was really sick and she did something with my help, I gather, and she told me that she used some kind of technique to connect our minds or something," she saw the pureblooded Saiyan pique in interest at that. "Yea, I gather she's kind of psychic?"

"… Psychic."

"Yea…"

The Saiyan prince was momentarily stunned. Juritsu didn't blame him. Sure, they'd encountered aliens of every and all kinds, but still, some things were just odd. Like psychic roommates, for example, and somewhere that was less normal than her father's previous resurrections.

"And you're certain she doesn't have anything to do with the voice?" he finally asked. She glanced back down at her untouched can of soda, falling into thought herself. _Would_ Kaisuki have a reason to randomly send some kind of mental monster after her? She never felt any real killer intent directed at her from her dark-haired roommate, the most hostile thing ever exchanged between them stemming from a bad day and a headache, and that had been around three months ago.

"I don't think she's involved, no," Juritsu replied, "She was really unwell the other day and I think I helped her out without intending to. She seems sincere, but I don't understand enough about her abilities to really make a call."

Vegeta hummed in acknowledgement for a moment, a small pause in the conversation before he spoke up again. "It seems something's happening, Juritsu," he replied levelly, "I'm not sure what, but you should keep your guard up."

That didn't exactly make her feel much better. If Vegeta was also having the same feeling about the situation as she was, then it was more likely than not that something really _was_ amiss. Silently she nodded, letting out a sigh. How was she supposed to confront _this _kind of enemy? With a threat so behind the scenes as this one, she really had no idea what their motives were, who they were, when they'd strike... she'd have to start investigate but without catching anyone's attention so-…

Something flicked the back of her head, hard, and she yelped, rubbing her head and glaring at the offending finger.

"What was that for?!" she griped. There was a slightly amused glint in Vegeta's dark eyes. His lips had the slightest upturn to them.

"Stop with your outrageous mood swings," he replied, turning to take care of his can of soda, "You aren't going to be dealing with this alone, regardless of how close to this you are compared to the rest of us. I'll keep tabs on your area, as I'm sure your brother and Kakarott will as well. Report to me if something strange happens again."

A weight suddenly lifted from her chest. She hadn't even known it was there. It was then that she realized that, while the strange occurrences were making her slightly wary of her surroundings, they weren't the cause of her fear. She'd been afraid that, whatever this subtle issue was, she would have to take care of everything alone. She didn't see much of Vegeta, but she knew from his statement that he would be looking out for her.

A smile blossomed on her lips, and she finally opened the can. "I will," she replied, pausing to take a sip of the cool beverage, "Thank you, Vegeta."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him glance over at the sound of her voice, before a gentle smirk graced his hardened features.

"Good. Now get out of my house so I can return to my training."

"Hai, hai. It was good to see you too."

"Come back and spar sometime."

She paused on the way out the door, glancing over at her friend and flashing a bright grin. "You don't have to ask me twice."

His smirk widened in response, and she stepped out into the sun, gently closing the door behind her before taking off into the air, flying back towards her school.

* * *

**A/N: Now that we're done revising chapters like crazy people, we hope that you enjoy this new chapter (I was sitting on this baby for months, like I've been sitting on the other 5 completed chapters, and then we revised EVERYTHING). Again, if you want to make sense of what's going on, you need to go back and re-read from the beginning.  
**

**Meanwhile, I will be posting the rest of the chapters after I've finished finalizing my edits. So expect to see them popping up within the next week or two! And yes, this chapter is a short chapter, but the upcoming chapters are gonna have a lot of crap go down. Just wait, you'll see!**

**- G**


	5. Chapter 5

******Disclaimer: Various concepts and characters have been retrieved from _Dragonball Z_ and _Bleach_ for this story; they belong to Akira Toriyama and Tite Kubo. Please note, however, that the plot, which is an original plot, is unrelated to the events that take place in DBZ and Bleach, meaning this is an AU fic. The OC's and plot belong to myself, and KRenee.**

* * *

**V**

_New Years' Eve, 2011_

"So, you got everything sorted out with your brother when you left that one weekend, right? Not sure if I asked." Grimmjow inquired as he and Juritsu strolled through the clubbing district. The night air was frigid but the energized atmosphere was warming in and of itself. Tonight was an exceptionally electrifying night; the last day of the year always had that kind of effect.

The demi-Saiyan smiled at her friend in response to his question. He was always asking her that; it was kind of cute in a way. Even if it came off as casual, his concern still warmed her, almost made her feel giddy. It was a sensation she'd never felt before, and while it was confusing, it left her feeling almost deliriously happy. It wasn't a bad feeling either - in a way, it kind of gave her a yearning to be around him more, just to experience the feeling longer..

Karma was nearly overflowing with energy. It gave her a rush of excitement. Tonight seemed like it would be a good night. As they navigated through the crowd, Grimmjow slid an arm around her waist to keep them from separating. His hand rested on her hip, and her heart fluttered, whether it be from excitement or nervousness, she didn't know. She was certain that her face was flushed, feeling her ears warm up. Thankfully, it was too dark to see.

"Hey," Juritsu spoke up once they settled into an unclaimed section of the bar area, "I'm gonna get some drinks. You want anything specific?"

Grimmjow had a grin on his face that sent shivers down to her fingers and toes, "I think you know me well enough to pick out a good one."

Juritsu chuckled at that, noticing how her voice came out a bit huskier than usual. She'd never had _that_ happen before, and wasn't sure what it meant. "I'll be right back. No pressure or anything."

Grimmjow's laughter reached her ears as she expertly wove through the throngs of students. Her heart was racing, but in a good way. Giddy at this point really couldn't even describe it. All she knew was, she only felt this way around Grimmjow. And, she realized, she didn't mind that at all, didn't mind _wanting_ to always be around him.

It didn't take long for her to grab an open slot at the bar, and patiently waited to be tended to. She saw friends and classmates here and there, probably some too drunk to remember encountering her.

"Well, look at what we have here."

Juritsu blinked. That wasn't a voice she recognized, rough, masculine, and filled to the brim with alpha-male cockiness. She turned around to find herself staring at just that; an alpha-male.

He was shorter than most guys she'd seen, but what he lacked in height he certainly seemed to make up for in bulk. His hair was short, dark and spiked and his taut skin was a rich tan. It kind of reminded her of the guidos she'd seen and heard of on that one really popular show... what'd it been called? New Jersey Shore... or something like that? And he really did remind her of a guido, with the way he popped the collar on his obnoxiously bright-colored polo.

His attitude kind of reminded her of it too, especially with the obvious way he kept looking her up and down, with that stupid, self-assured grin of his, like he thought he actually had a _chance_ with her. But, she decided to start off politely.

"Excuse me?" she asked, portraying slight confusion at his speech, "Were you talking to me?"

This newcomer's grin only widened, and he practically all but pinned her against the bar. "You bet I was. Glad to know you were listening," he pressed against her, "What's a little thing like you doing out here all by yourself?"

Juritsu was very quickly put off by Mr. Guido-Douchebag. Who the hell did he think he was?!

"Would you mind backing off?!" she let her temper flare, glaring at him furiously.

The guy laughed, leaning closer, "Aw, come on, don't be like that! What's your name? You can call me Leo."

Juritsu shoved him backwards, "And you can fuck off, because an asshole like you would have a less-than-0-percent chance with me!"

Leo's smirk darkened. "You say that, but I know what girls like you want," He took a step towards her, reached out to her, "You're all the same; you love being thrown down, and -..."

She grabbed his wrist tightly before he could touch her, and wrenched him close, so she could meet his smug expression with her murderous glare. "Don't touch me. You even so much as think it, and you'll find yourself crying like the little bitch that you really are."

Leo didn't look too pleased with that threat, and she couldn't tell if he was taking her seriously, but she really didn't care. She threw his wrist back at him, turned and grabbed the drinks, and shoved past him without a second thought.

It was about that moment that a sudden shift in Grimmjow's energies reached her senses, the sudden change causing her to pause briefly in her steps. It was warping in such a way, it gave her a sense of desperation, like he was trying to fight it. And the _way_ it was shifting was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. Was he being attacked?

She began working her way through the crowd, trying to move faster. "Grimmjow?!" she called out, hoping for some kind of response.

...

He couldn't look away.

Even though Grimmjow wanted nothing more than to divert his gaze to something else, to _anything_ else, he couldn't. And, after a moment, even that desire began to fade. The noise of the club in the background faded away as a chilling heat filled his chest. His reiatsu felt like it was being held in a vice grip, and the sensation made his head begin to ache.

Lily's eyes were a stunning shade of blue, glowing brightly against the dim lights on the dance floor. His mouth was dry, thirsty for her taste as she moved forward, their gazes locked. His hands moved up, settling on his hips as she leaned forward, intending to lock their lips together and seal his fate.

He barely felt the hand touch his shoulder, a shock of _NO_ bursting from within. His first thoughts were a nearly panicked _where did Juritsu go?_ His hands were falling away from Lily's hips, his head was spinning and a lingering taste of familiar reiatsu was sticking to his tongue. Ulquiorra?

Lily's hands were gripping his shoulders, pulling him back towards her, "No," she growled lowly, her voice holding a dangerous undertone, "Look at me, Grimmjow…"

"Fuck off, psycho-bitch!" He wrenched out of her grip, refusing to glance in her direction. His instincts were something he trusted immensely, and even if it was strange, his gut was telling him to get the hell away from Lily, because there was something more than very wrong going on. _You have to find Juritsu and run._

As he glanced towards the crowd by the bar to search, he felt a spike of her reiatsu signature. She probably felt whatever the hell just happened. And just a second later, she emerged through the crowd, a slightly panicked look in her eyes. Of course, that was before her eyes fell upon Lily and himself. No, then her face contorted to something like rage.

Juritsu was _pissed_.

He couldn't blame her, considering everything that involved Lily seemed to be bad news. But at the moment, apologizing and trying to explain would have to wait. For now, the only thing that mattered was getting Juritsu and getting away from here.

As the brunette was opening her mouth, he grabbed her wrist, nearly yanking her off her feet. The drinks she was carrying fell to the ground, but he didn't care.

"We have to go," he gave her a look as he said this, doing what he could to silently convey his message: _We're in danger we have to get away from here something bad is gonna happen **come with me please**_.

Her anger faltered, he could see, and worry crept into her expression. He didn't give it a second thought before he started off towards the door, leading her along as he roughly pushed past throng after throng of drunk students.

The air outside had never felt so crisp and rejuvenating. Grimmjow took only a moment before he turned in the direction of his apartment. They'd be safe there.

"Grimmjow...?" he heard Juritsu's voice, slightly uncertain and definitely confused, "What's going on?"

"I knew she was a psycho-bitch, but she takes that to a whole new level," he growled, slightly tightening his grip on Juritsu's hand. He couldn't explain it himself, but his instincts were telling him to _get away, and **don't lose Juritsu**_.

At that very moment, as Juritsu was opening her mouth to say something, a sensation akin to being stabbed erupted in the back of his skull. Darkness the color of blood pooled into his vision, and Grimmjow was sudden overcome by vertigo, knees buckling and hitting the ground. He could feel Juritsu's hands on him, voice calling from far, far away, but he couldn't really process it past the _roaring_ in his head. His ears were ringing and his body was wracked with chills, the taste of bile staining his mouth as he writhed in pain as his muscles spasmed well out of his control.

_DON'T INTERFERE, WORTHLESS SCUM!_ That voice was shrieking in his head, _STAY OUT OF THE WAY! WE WILL FORCE YOU TO YOUR KNEES AND BREAK YOUR SKULL AGAINST THE PAVEMENT! **STAY OUT OF THE WAY!**_

...

"Grimmjow?!" Her friend was unresponsive, save for a pained groan, "Hey, hang in there!"

Juritsu cradled him in her arms, frantically searching for any kind of wound, bruise, something, _anything._ Just what was going on?! What was wrong with him?! Could she help? She didn't know what to do what if Grimmjow was _dying_ how to help how to help he needs help **please be okay**.

"Grimmjow, can you hear me?" she continued to try and reach him, checking his pulse, checking for a fever. If there ever was a time that she wanted a pouch of senzu beans, now was most certainly that time. But would they even help? First it was his changing energy signature, now this. Something, somehow, was attacking him, and she had absolutely no idea how or what, if anything, she could even do.

"I'm gonna take care of you, okay? Come on, just hang in there," her voice cracked just a bit as fear for her friend threatened to nearly choke her. She hadn't felt this helpless in a long time. She usually could help using her own powers. This was _way_ out of her scope though; honesty she couldn't remember ever fighting a battle against an opponent who could mentally attack her. There had to be _something_, _someone_, who could…-

"Juritsu!" The voice was familiar, and the half-Saiyan glanced up to find Ralph, Grimmjow's roommate, running towards them. Where had he come from? Literally out of the blue - she'd never seen him in the clubbing district. And granted it _was_ New Years, but was he even the partying type?

"What happened?" he asked as he dropped to a crouch next to Juritsu, going over and checking Grimmjow's condition.

"I... I don't know," she explained, trying to do so without exposing her abilities, "He was fine for a minute, and then the next thing I know, he's like this."

There was a pause, a silence that fell over them once Juritsu had finished speaking. In the background, a countdown was beginning. Ten seconds to midnight and, with it, the new year. But the chaos and noise behind them faded.

There was an almost peculiar look on Ralph's face; he was biting his lip, eyebrows furrowed, but this expression wasn't so much concentration as it was contemplation.

"Something's... being set in motion," he spoke slowly, "You need to be hyper-vigilant, for both your sake and Grimmjow's."

Juritsu couldn't have been more bewildered. "Wh... what are you talking about? What's being set in motion?"

Ralph gave her an apologetic smile, just as the cheers and celebratory fireworks erupted behind them. "Let's get Grimmjow back to my place. I'll take care of him."

…

Grimmjow didn't remember much after blacking out. Occasionally he'd hear a voice - sometimes Juritsu, sometimes Ralph - calling out to him. That made him feel a little better, safer. As long as either of them were with him, he'd be okay. Everything would be okay.

As he floated back to consciousness, he found that his headache was gone, though his head and body felt heavy, weighed down. But as he slowly opened his eyes, waiting for his blurry vision to clear, he came to the realization that someone was in the room with him.

"Who...?" his voice felt thick, throat hoarse as he came to.

"Hello, Grimmjow," the familiar, monotonous voice of Ulquiorra spoke up from the foot of his bed, "I'm surprised to see you awake this soon."

If Grimmjow hadn't been physically and mentally drained, he probably would've jumped in surprise or launched an attack. Instead, he could only glare at Espada Cuarta, who was leisurely reading a book. "If you think I'm in the mood for any of your bullshit, you're sorely mistaken," he half-heartedly snapped.

"I don't believe that you actually consider me the bullshitting type, Grimmjow," Ulquiorra flipped the page of the book - which Grimmjow suddenly recognized as his anatomy textbook - and tilted his head slightly as he read on about the ventricles of the heart.

_Why_ the Espada was reading an anatomy textbook, he'd never know. And as he thought about it, Grimmjow decided he didn't _want_ to know either. Either way, this was Ulquiorra, who hated his existence. And yet, here he was, sitting at the foot of his bed.

Begrudgingly, he sighed. "What do you want?"

Ulquiorra snapped the book shut, replacing it on the table he had gotten it from and turned towards Grimmjow, his green eyes holding an unrecognizable emotion. Of course, the idea of emotion in those eyes was a feat all by itself - Grimmjow could've sworn the guy was stuffed full of cotton.

"You're lucky that I stepped in when I did," the Espada stated, his voice betraying a hint of what might've been either hurt or irritation. The latter seemed more likely, but with the ever-depressing Ulquiorra, it was hard to tell sometimes. "If I hadn't, you would've been nothing more than a soulless slave to that succubus."

So it really had been Ulquiorra that Grimmjow had briefly sensed at the club. That was before he processed what the Cuarta had actually _said_. "Wait, you _saved_ me? And Lily... she is what I think she is, right?"

At the implication that Grimmjow had just blurted at him, Ulquiorra pursed his lips and averted his gaze, as if he had realized that he'd said something he hadn't wanted to say. As if he was _embarrassed_. Who the hell was this, and what had they done with Ulquiorra!?

"Lily is only the name she's taken on for this world. Her real name is Lilith." As he said that, the Cuarta Espada flinched visibly, lifting a skeletal hand to rub at his head. That was around the moment when Grimmjow realized that Ulquiorra, though known for looking pale, sickly, and scrawny, had the appearance of someone with a severe bout of pneumonia. His usually white face was more ashen, and his hands looked positively _bony_.

"You need to either keep a better eye on yourself," he muttered, his voice soft and strained, "Or stay away from Juritsu. I can't keep coming to your rescue whenever you get in trouble."

Grimmjow's heart plummeted. "You... Ulquiorra... what are they doing to you?" He pulled himself into a sitting position, inwardly grimacing at the level of effort it took to do such a trivial task. Whatever that whole assault entailed, it took a hell of a lot out of him; that was for sure. But aside from recovering from _that_, inwardly, Grimmjow's mind was racing with thoughts and questions without answers to anything. He knew who Lilith was. He just didn't know why she was here, and why she kept targeting him. And if she was involved, did that explain Ulquiorra's deteriorating condition? And Juritsu…

This was the first he'd heard any mention of her in whatever this scheme was. And, now that he thought about it, it wasn't too long after meeting her that strange things began to happen, even by his standard. Was she aware of whatever _this_ was? Or was she just a target; was she in danger?

Ulquiorra's jaw was tight with tension, and he wouldn't even look at Grimmjow. He stood up from his seat, and Grimmjow could practically see the blood rushing to his head as he stood there for a second, swaying precariously.

He was already gathering his reiatsu to leave, apparently not intending to answer the question at all, "I... can't stay here any longer. I need to go." He looked like he was about to be sick, his hand finding a table for him to brace against. "I'm sorry that this has come to involve you so directly, Grimmjow. I know you wanted to come here and live obscurely. Just... prepare yourself for the future."

"Wait," Grimmjow nearly hit the floor as he scrambled out of bed, "Look, I know about the day; we all do." His words came out in a frantic rush, desperate for answers, direction, _something_, "What does Juritsu have to do with any of this? And what the hell am I supposed to do? I'm grasping at loose strings here, Ulquiorra. I can better protect myself if I know _something_. Please just... anything will do."

Ulquiorra paused in his movements, his back hunched forward slightly as he cradled his forehead in his spare hand. The hand supporting his weight against the table clenched into a fist, and some part of Grimmjow wanted to grab his shoulder and forcefully turn him around and... he didn't know. Hug him? Punch him?

"I have to go," was the quiet, almost forced reply.

With that, a breeze of energy blew around the room, and Ulquiorra was gone. Where his hand had been against the table, there was a dark spot on the wood, almost like a scorch mark.

Grimmjow was leaning against his bed post, stunned from any number of things. He clenched one hand into a fist, while the other squeezed his forehead tightly to quell his anger. Ulquiorra had given him everything and nothing at the same time, and he still had absolutely no idea what to do.

"Damn it..." The only thing that had been growing steadily clearer was his instinct. But even that could only do so much without any information to make countermeasures with. As far as he could tell, they were practically sitting ducks!

_Something's going to happen. Don't let Juritsu go._

…

_January, 2012_

Grimmjow's pocket vibrated just as he was sitting down in class. Fishing his phone out of his pocket – he still had five minutes before the lecture started – he checked the message. _What the…_

_I hope you are feeling better, Sexta_.

No way. Absolutely no freakin' way. Grimmjow hastily sent a response – _What the hell Ulquiorra, how did you get my number?_ - before settling and getting his things out of his bag. Aside from the question of how the Fourth Espada had his number, let alone how he got his hands on a cell phone, why in the world was he _texting_ him? It was a slight relief; it had been a couple of weeks since he'd heard from the pale Arrancar.

_She's sitting next to the Anti-Christ._

… What?

Eyes wide, he stared at the message for a very long moment. _She's… Anti-Christ… She's… Anti-Christ_.

Juritsu was sitting next to the Anti-Christ.

And currently, they were chatting nonchalantly, Juritsu laughing at some joke the young man (or perhaps, demon) had quipped, and Grimmjow's grip on his phone tightened. Whether that was from the sudden, unexpected jealously that welled up inside of him, or the concern for her safety, he couldn't quite tell. Maybe it was from both.

But still, it explained why Chris came off as perfect in every way. Too good to be true; a fake Jesus Christ, and by the time people realized it, it was always far too late. As powerful as she seemed to be, he knew that even Juritsu wouldn't be able to see it either. Hell, if he hadn't been from Hueco Mundo, it was likely that his instincts wouldn't have raised red flags like they did.

_So the Anti-Christ wants to be a heart surgeon_, was his dry retort as he discreetly send the text to his fellow Espada.

_He's more interested in feeding her to the Devil._

The obvious joke likely went right over Ulquiorra's head. At least those more fundamental bases of his personality were intact, despite whatever he was going through.

_Why Juritsu though? Obviously she's strong, but so are plenty of people._

Ulquiorra had managed to reply in about thirty seconds flat after every text that Grimmjow sent him. It seemed he was pretty adept at the cell phone that he must've just acquired. But after two and half minutes, there was no reply from the Cuarta Espada and Grimmjow just _knew_ that something must've happened. If it wasn't for the fact that he was prioritizing Juritsu's safety, he might've abandoned today's lecture and gone to find Ulquiorra, just to see if he was alright.

Ulquiorra was always hard to read, but since divulging the news of their lost peers in Hueco Mundo, he'd changed. Grimmjow hadn't realized that Ulquiorra cared about anything aside from being loyal, but… this sudden and drastic change in his attitude towards his least-favorite of the Espada was almost disturbing. Even the most apathetic could be changed in the face of… whatever it was that had happened. And he could only imagine how bad it was, for it to have changed the Fourth so much

"… So, 4 o'clock sound good?" Chris' spoke – speak of the devil – drifted to Grimmjow's consciousness, and it took him a second to realize that he was still chatting with Juritsu. _Shit_.

Hastily, he scribbled a note – _Hey, what are you up to later?_ – and slid the notebook over towards Juritsu just as the professor began to make it clear he wanted to start the lecture.

"Sounds good! I'll text you," Juritsu's voice quieted to a murmur. She turned to face the front of the room and perked at Grimmjow's notebook, and wrote a response before passing it back to him.

_Hey, sorry! I'm meeting with Chris for a movie night. He's got some friends over, but he promised he wouldn't bring Lily (thank god). You wanna come?_

_I'd rather rot_, was what came to mind, but he decided against it, mentally cursing all the same. The chances that this wasn't some kind of trap were slim to none.

_Nah, I'm good. If you get bored with that though, hit me up._

_Haha, sounds good_.

Yea, sounded good alright, Grimmjow raged in his head. She was practically presenting herself to Lucifer, gift-wrapped with a ribbon on top. He glanced over towards Chris. The bastard had a smug grin on his face, but as he met his eyes, the grin became a scowl. Grimmjow matched it with his own murderous glare.

_Don't interfere, **Hollow**._

_Fuck off, demon. You lay a hand on her and I'll tear you to shreds myself._

Juritsu was completely oblivious of this, having already turned her attention to the presentation on the screen.

* * *

**A/N: Well editing took a bit longer than expected. Actually, the one thing I was sitting on was a scene that we decided to emit in the end anyway. But nevertheless, here is the next chapter!  
**

**I've got a lot of studying and packing and things to do the next couple of days, so I won't be looking at posting the chapters until the weekend, most likely. Otherwise, enjoy!**

**- G**


	6. Chapter 6

******Disclaimer: Various concepts and characters have been retrieved from _Dragonball Z_ and _Bleach_ for this story; they belong to Akira Toriyama and Tite Kubo. Please note, however, that the plot, which is an original plot, is unrelated to the events that take place in DBZ and Bleach, meaning this is an AU fic. The OC's and plot belong to myself, and KRenee.**

* * *

**VI**

_Movie's not scary at all._

Grimmjow snorted at Juritsu's text. She'd been keeping him more or less regularly posted with how lame the movie was. _Don't scare easily?_

_You could say that._

He pondered briefly at whatever **that** meant, though he suspected it probably had something to do with that ridiculous well of power he was constantly sensing within her. With how attuned she seemed to be into her surroundings, he wouldn't have been surprised whatsoever if he came to find out she was some sort of fighter.

_Lame movie. Now we're chatting._

He replied with an _about what, ghosts_ and reclined in his lounge seat, stretching lithely and taking a deep breath. This wasn't what he had in mind when it came to keeping tabs on the brunette, but he didn't want to raise any suspicion and let on how much he was relatively aware of. But surely they wouldn't make a move now, would they? There was still another year and change before **that** day, but...

It was when she hadn't replied after ten minutes that he began to grow worried. She was generally very punctual about responding, with the exception being that she was preoccupied for some reason or another. Normally, that was when she was in class, clinicals, or doing homework. But she wasn't doing any of those things, and a pit of dread settled in his stomach. His gut was telling him something seriously bad was happening.

_Juritsu_...

He was beginning to wonder whether calling her now would seem too stalker-like when a crash closely followed by two distinct thumps startled him out of his seat - literally. He turned to the source of the sound in time to see Ulquiorra, back against the wall and hunched over in pain.

The small table that had held a lamp by the foot of Grimmjow's bed had been knocked over in the messy landing, but that wasn't really an issue at that moment. He could barely sense any form of reiatsu coming off the Cuarta Espada, and the violent spasms that were wracking his body weren't being caused by any physical injury. But even as he noticed that, Ulquiorra's reiatsu seemed to flicker as he slid down to the floor, eyes beginning to roll back into his head.

The blue-haired Espada all but scrambled to his feet, tripping as he rushed over to his fellow Hollow. Sweet fucking Jesus, was the guy even _alive_?

"Oi! What the hell happened?_!_"

He didn't know if it was the sound of his voice or the volume of it that had managed to pull Ulquiorra back from what looked like the brink of death. A pale hand shot up and grabbed the front of Grimmjow's shirt, cold fingers brushing against bare skin. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he had to put in effort not to recoil.

The quantity and quality of the dark energy that was wrapped around the Cuarta was _so strong_; he'd never felt anything like it. Was it Chris? The Devil himself? He could feel a chilling, stinging kind of pain where that scrawny hand was touching him, and he could almost see the raw energy that was curled around Ulquiorra tightly enough to suffocate him.

"Th's..." his words were almost inaudible, even for Grimmjow's acute hearing, "S'comi... coming..."

What? _What_? "What the hell do you me-...!" All at once, there was a rumbling, causing the room to quake. It was about that moment that Grimmjow felt the foulest, blackest energy he'd ever felt before in his _life_. If there was any point in his existence that he'd felt such a thing, it was too rare of a moment to remember. All he knew was, whatever it was, it was dark and evil.

And it was headed right for them.

"Shit!" He carefully pried loose Ulquiorra's fingers and dashed over to his closet, grabbing Pantera without hesitation. He knew this was breaking the rules, but at this point, it was survival. He wouldn't be able to take them all on without his Resurrección

He glanced out the window just in time to see murky shadows completely obscure the outside world, the room suddenly doused in dimness and flickering light as seemingly every electronic device around them went haywire.

Ulquiorra, despite being barely conscious, seemed to be aware enough to know that the evil he had been running from had caught up to them. Grimmjow wasn't sure if he was listening to rambling prayers to a God who didn't care or an attempt to recall an exorcism. His palms were beginning to sweat with apprehension as he watched the distorted images of demonic spirits clawing at the windows. He could hear them shrieking curses and clawing just on the other side of the walls... but for whatever reason, they couldn't get in.

He wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He thanked whoever happened to be smiling down on them and stepped away from the windows, moving to stand in front of Ulquiorra. If the demons happened to get in, he wasn't about to just hand over the only other Espada left, not over his dead body. As much as he hated to admit it, they _were_ kin after all, and at this point, they were the only ones left. Ulquiorra was doing his bit by protecting him from behind the scenes. The least he could do was protect him now.

Suddenly, the blue-haired Espada heard a deep, guttural growl from the depths of his mind. His heart climbed into his throat and choked him at the sound of a hungry Devil coming to town, the feeling of the King's presence breezing by his house. It was nearly overwhelming to sense as he swallowed the various organs that had risen into his throat, trying to get a feel for where Lucifer was headed.

_He's more interested in feeding her to the Devil_

Just as he was ready to debate the chances of survival if he were to make a run for Juritsu, those black shadows ripped themselves away from the windows, and leaving behind a final, lasting threat of eternal pain and torment before disappearing from his senses altogether.

Grimmjow stepped forward, instinct now screaming at him to _GET TO JURITSU!_ But a soft, almost whimper-like sound stopped him in his tracks, and he glanced over at the pale Espada.

He approached him, kneeling down and checking him over. Cuarta wasn't responding to anything in real time. His entire body was wracked with tremors, and his expression was indicative of excruciating pain.

"Ulquiorra... oi, come on, you're tougher than this, asshole," he shook the Espada in question, trying to rouse him, figure out what was wrong. That tingling pain returned, this time in his hands from clutching Ulquiorra's jacket. It was very clear that the Fourth was under attack.

And it was very clear that, short of stabbing him, Grimmjow wasn't going to elicit any sort of reaction. Ulquiorra looked like he'd practically fallen into a coma. A quick check for a pulse revealed one, to the Sexta's relief, but he had no idea how long he'd last.

"Jesus Christ, Ulquiorra, if anyone's supposed to be killing you, it's me." The half-hearted joke did nothing to alleviate his mood, and Grimmjow cursed. How long had it been since he felt the King float by? Was Juritsu okay?

And where the hell was Ralph when you needed him?_!_ The med student knew a hell of a _lot_ more than he was letting on. How else would he have been able to help Grimmjow recover from Lillith's attack? His blonde room mate refused to answer any questions - yea, no way the guy _wasn't_ somehow involved - and Grimmjow hadn't been attacked since, thank god. He had half a mind to suspect that Ralph had somehow demon-proofed the house while he was at class or something. Not that he was complaining, but still. This was probably the only time he'd ever admit it, but he was willing to ask for help at this point, because he was perfectly stumped.

_Ralph, could really use your magic powers right about now._

He wasn't sure whether to expect a text or not. Last he'd heard, Ralph had mentioned something about rotations at the hospital and overnight shifts and who fucking cared Ulquiorra was practically dead and only Ralph could bloody save him—

A desperate pounding on the front door all but gave him a heart attack. With how loud the sound was, Grimmjow was surprised the damned thing wasn't flying off the hinges. But with how frantic the noise was, it was as if the person was trying to outrun a serial killer.

He glanced over at Ulquiorra. Still unresponsive, and somehow looking even worse for wear. _Shit_.

There was no ignoring that pounding on the door though. "Don't fucking move," he growled, and headed out into the hall towards the stairs, one hand still gripping Pantera as it rested in its sheath. He could only guess as to how desperate a demon would've been to try and get into the house-...

_Juritsu_.

He paused only for a second as her reiatsu suddenly hit his senses, before he abandoned all caution and sprinted to the door. Juritsu it was Juritsu is she safe is she okay...-

He opened the door, and before he could even get a word out, she slammed into him as if she was running from the legions of Hell. And for all he knew, she was. She nearly knocked him off his feet - as it was, the force of her flying into him sent him stumbling backwards into the wall, breath leaving his lungs in a hiss as she found a death cling and seemed to hold on for dear life.

_What the hell...?_ "Juritsu? Hey... what happ-..." he began, but was quickly cut off by her whisper.

"Help me."

He didn't think he'd ever heard so much fear, so much terror, in such a simple phrase. Shifting slightly in her hold, he got a better look at her.

The majority of her face was buried into his shirt, but he saw enough. Juritsu was normally a rather gorgeous tan, he personally thought, but she was currently as white as a sheet. Her eyes were wide, so very wide, and her expression told him pretty much all he needed to know.

His rage exploded, almost consumed him. He could feel his reiatsu pulsing, itching to release. _THAT FUCKING BASTARD I'LL TEAR HIM APART!_

No, no, no. Had to calm down. Juritsu came first. Juritsu was a mess. She needed him.

He slowly, almost tentatively, wrapped his arms around his in a snug embrace, slightly unsure if the contact would cause her to freak out. Her hands clutched tightly on to his shirt in response, as if she was drowning and he was her anchor, her rope to reality. Making sure she could sense his intentions, he slid down the wall until the two of them sat on the floor, Juritsu curled up into a ball, and Grimmjow providing her with the hiding spot she seemed to desperately seek.

"Hey, it'll be alright," the Espada soothed, wondering if he was being even remotely reassuring. Verbal comfort wasn't exactly a strong point of his. "I'm here now."

She shuddered, and he thought he heard her choke on a sob. That anger welled yet again, though he quickly quenched it, and instead tightened his embrace, running a hand through her hair, silently reveling in how silky it felt between his fingers.

"It's okay… Juritsu…?" She had suddenly stiffened in his arms. Her breathing was coming out in fast, shallow gasps, "O-oi, what is…"

"We need to leave," her words came out rushed, urgent, and the next thing he knew, Juritsu was pulling back and trying to drag him to his feet, "Oh god, he's here, he's **here** Grimmjow!"

"Wh… what?"

She grabbed his hand, whining frantically. "You don't understand, he's gonna kill us! Grimmjow, he's gonna kill us please I'm begging you please just come with me we're not safe here!"

_What the hell was she talking about…? Ulquiorra?_

He reached out in search of his brother's reiatsu, trying to resist Juritsu's _ridiculously_ strong attempts to move him, and for a good ten seconds he couldn't find it. All he felt was that ink-black energy in the approximate location that he knew Ulquiorra was.

Just as he was thinking that the only other Espada left besides himself had just died, he felt a small, helpless flicker. If there was a sound that souls made when they were in excruciating, unimaginable pain, Grimmjow heard it then. It couldn't have been described in words and the sound of it likely drained the color from his face. Juritsu seemed to notice the change; perhaps he was turning green. He certainly felt like he was about to vomit.

"Grimmjow, please, we need to-..." her voice was growing in volume. Likely, she was on the verge of a panic attack.

"I need to..." what could he even say? That the demonic-feeling entity upstairs was a friend?

"Don't go up there!" She was pulling harder now, her strength long since passing superhuman, "Please, trust me!"

"It's just...!"

There was a loud bang that startled both of them out of their separate trances, followed by a series of softer, insistent knocks on the front door. The duo could feel the unfamiliar energy signatures just outside the door, one in particular feeling horribly similar to that of Lucifer himself... though it wasn't him.

The knocking stopped abruptly, muffled voices filling in the gaps of what was going on - at least, some of the less important gaps.

"Oh for fuck's sake, get outta my way!"

"Khrai, we shouldn't enter without-..."

"The time for proper manners and all that bullshit has long since passed. 'Scuse me, honey-nan."

There wasn't a moment to react to the ominous phrasing before the door was abruptly kicked open, nearly coming off its hinges. Three women walked in, each with startlingly different levels and types of reiatsu.

The expression on the blonde evidently leading this excursion was familiar, but Grimmjow couldn't place it. That wasn't exactly important. Who the hell where these people?_!_ One of them – a scrawny young girl with _talons_ for fingers – was staring at Juritsu with a look somewhere between enraged and sympathetic. What the hell kind of combination was _that_?_!_ And, he noted, this little girl was the one with a nearly identical reiatsu to Lucifer; who the hell was she?

Juritsu was staring at this scrawny young girl. He hasn't thought it possible, but she paled to an ashen color.

He decided it best to break the silence. "... And you would be...?" he asked slowly, free hand resting on the hilt of Pantera while the other pushed Juritsu behind him protectively. His eyes narrowed in a suspicious glare

The blonde's expression didn't offer any sense that she was concerned about his presence. Her gaze skirted towards the staircase, bright blue eyes narrowing. Apparently, she wasn't planned on answering Grimmjow's question.

"Isolde-nan," She suddenly said, turning towards a green eyed woman to her right, "Kid-nen's upstairs." She didn't respond to the blonde's command at first, looking to Grimmjow for a moment before turning back to the blonde.

"Khrai, shouldn't we-..." Isolde, began slowly, only to be cut off by the woman she was addressing.

"Go. Now." Her eyes were set on Grimmjow, daring him to make a move as Isolde started towards the stairs.

Grimmjow scowled at her furiously. "And just what are you planning on doing to Ulquiorra?" He demanded, "And I'd really appreciate you telling me who the hell you are!"

Khrai was about to retort, but the youngest of the group - the one with Lucifer's energy signature, took a slight step forward to remind them of her presence.

"Khrai-san," Her voice was light, but held a darker undertone - not necessarily malevolent, though, "We agreed that you wouldn't pick a fight with Grimmjow-san just because he is of the opposite gender."

The blonde snorted irritably, "Yea, I friggen' remember. And _you're_ not going to accidentally turn Juritsu into a vegetable, devochka."

The girl sighed in exasperation, a devious smirk of amusement gracing her ghastly pale features, highlighting a large scar that crossed over her face, "My name is Saeka. We're here to help."

There was a slight tugging on the back of his shirt. Juritsu had grasped it, perhaps as a means to hide herself, or perhaps a reassurance that he was still there and she wasn't imagining it. He could feel her trembling.

"What did you have in mind when you said help?" he wasn't about to drop his suspicions just because one of them said something about helping them. The blonde was a total bitch - even if she had the hottest body he'd ever seen - and the smaller girl gave off sort of a serial killer vibe. Either way, he wasn't about to hand over Juritsu so easily.

"Ulquiorra-san is being killed by a demonic lesion, which is kind of like an infection that attacks your energy and spirit," Saeka explained, "Isolde is going to try to excise it and banish it back to Hell. But the lesion was left by the Devil himself, so-…"

"So he'll be one lucky fucker if he lives through it," Khrai stated bluntly, glancing back towards the stairs, "She's gettin' started... Saeka-nan, deal with Juritsu-nan so you can help her out; she's gonna need it."

Juritsu whimpered from behind him, and he glanced over his shoulder at her. The fear was still there, but he could also see her distrust. Only question now was, what to do?

"What do you want?" she whispered, and surprised him altogether. He didn't think she'd speak at all.

Khrai's expression softened in a heartbeat. She tilted her head, as if to get a better look at Juritsu, "Not sure if this'll make you feel any better... but we're here in Kaisuki-nan's place. She's… not readily available at this time."

"Lucifer still has a hold on you, Juritsu-san," Saeka spoke again, "If we leave things as is, he'll destroy you. He won't even have to be there in person. I can drive him out... if anyone else could do it, I probably wouldn't even be here, giving you the willies. But there isn't anyone else."

Surprisingly him yet again, she came around from behind him, stopping at his side, still grasping onto his shirt. He wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders for support.

"How do you know Kaisuki?" her voice was stronger now, apparently finding something familiar in all this in the form of a mentioned name. Kaisuki was... her room mate, right? "Who are you? Where is she?"

Khrai and Saeka exchanged an uncertain glance before turning back to Juritsu and Grimmjow. The blonde lifted a hand to scratch the back of her neck awkwardly, "It's... kind of really hard to explain. Uh..."

"Grimmjow-san," Saeka addressed him directly, "You know what a Yurei is, right?"

Grimmjow stiffened. Clearly this group wasn't normal either if she expected him to know that. _No, I haven't been trying to stay on the down low, **not at all**_. "A person that harbors multiple spirits," he slowly replied, feeling Juritsu's eyes on him.

"Kaisuki-san is a Yurei," she stated simply, "The three of us are the spirits she hosts. She's been under attack almost since she arrived here. It wasn't anything that she couldn't handle, but another has been... sucking the life out of her, you might say."

Saeka then lifted a hand (Jesus, those talons had to be at _least_ ten inches long), indicating Khrai with a lazy gesture, "In order to protect her, Khrai-san made the executive decision to lock Kaisuki-san in the furthest corners of our shared mind until we've handled things. You haven't actually spoken to Kaisuki-san in two months."

Khrai cleared her throat loudly, officially deciding that this conversation was getting to be too lengthy, "Ladies, I hate to interrupt our exchange of all things private and personal," she shot a harsh look at Saeka for a moment before returning her attention to Grimmjow and Juritsu, "But devochka needs to throw Satan'en out of Juritsu-nan's head. Now would be preferable."

"Ah," Saeka blinked, "They're coming back."

Grimmjow blinked. "_They're_..." he trailed off as that familiar murkiness began to move towards him. He quickly realized exactly what Saeka was talking about. He pushed Juritsu behind him tightened his grip on Pantera. If it was a fight the demons wanted, then he was more than willing to oblige. "Shit! Why'd you have to kick the damn door off?! They'll get in!"

"Ralph-nen already has a barrier up to ward off demonic entities," Khrai said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Whether there's a door or not is irrelevant. However," she paused, glancing towards the window with a thoughtful expression, "If they're coming with one of Lucifer-nen's best... like the Four Horsemen, or the Plagues of Egypt, or the Seven Angels of Death or something, then there's no way this barrier will hold."

Saeka glanced over at Juritsu, "If we can get Lucifer's presence out of you and Ulquiorra, the lower-level demons won't be able to maintain themselves on this plain with so many Holy Spirits running around. And no upper-level demon, no matter how egomaniacal, would think of pitting themselves against Lucifer's daughter."

At "Lucifer's daughter," Grimmjow gave pause. Things were starting to fall into place. It certainly explained her reiatsu. Of course, it did little to lessen the confusion. If anything, a thousand more questions popped up instead.

"So... you're Lucifer's daughter..." he deadpanned, still feeling slightly incredulous, and perhaps even a tad bit overwhelmed. For god's sake, what else didn't he freakin' know?_!_

"We can delve into the details later. Juritsu-san, either you choose to trust me with this, or I can try to fend them off," Khrai turned to the girl at that, about to step in incredulously, but she stopped her with a smile, "I was bred for battle, Khrai-san. You'd do well to stay with them and hold a caim."

"Saeka-nan, you little-..." before she could continue her rant, a sound like a shotgun going off shook the house. The outdoors were obscured by the smoky, black shadows clawing at the warding spell. The lights flickered, and then went out entirely. Grimmjow's eyes adjusted faster and easier than most being of any kind - it was a trait of his catlike nature - but the sight he saw didn't make him feel any better.

A black ink was oozing around the cracks in the windows, under the broken door... not actual demons, but a kind of blood-like plasma that came with superior strength. They had, as Khrai had warned, brought extra manpower. The house trembled violently, nearly causing him to lose his footing as he pulled Juritsu closer.

"I can't get a spell for light going, devochka," Khrai's voice cut through the darkness, "You'll have to-..."

There was a guttural growl, loud enough to sound through the entire house, following by a piercing, animal-like shriek. The glass in the windows began to crack, and Grimmjow suddenly recognized Ulquiorra's voice, laced with pure evil and speaking Latin.

"Saeka-nan!" Khrai barked, and Grimmjow was about to tear off the hand that had grabbed Juritsu and ripped her out of his grasp when he realized it was the blonde, who gripped a fistful of Saeka's and Juritsu's hair and rather roughly forced their foreheads together. The din around them was overwhelming, the amount of power and evil swirling around them beginning to make his head spin violently.

He felt a tug on his sleeve; a tug that turned into dragging. It was Khrai again, pulling him towards Saeka and Juritsu. A white light surrounded the four of them in a circle, reaching the floor and wrapping a warm light around them.

"Grimmjow-nen!" Somehow Khrai's voice carried over the deafening roar that had suddenly fallen upon them, "Stay here! Don't let either of them out of this circle when they come back!"

"The hell do you mean, come back?_!_" No response, just noise. Why he thought he'd be heard at all was a mystery in and of itself.

He was able to make out a dusty image of Khrai taking the stairs two at a time. Grimmjow glanced over to Juritsu and Saeka, entirely unsure of what he was supposed to do in this situation. Ulquiorra's voice was still roaring through the house, echoing as if they were in a cave or something, and he heard a loud, piercing **crack** that seemed to come from every direction, echoing into the far reaches of his mind. He looked over to a window, seeing fractures in some kind of pale gold light. Was that the barrier? Why was it cracking?_!_

It had to be whatever energies were possessing Ulquiorra... he must've been chanting a spell to take down the barrier, and if he had even a grape-sized slice of Lucifer's power in him, Ralph's spell wouldn't stand a chance.

His throat was impossibly dry as he drew Pantera from its sheath, cursing his luck and bracing himself for battle. He didn't even know where he could stand to keep Juritsu and Saeka out of the fray. There were three main points of entry that he could see from his current spot; a reading nook in a window behind them, the front door to their left, and the window he could see across the room in the kitchen. They'd be coming from every angle, and honestly, Grimmjow wasn't entirely sure if his Zanpakuto would work on these particular demons; they didn't have what could be considered a physical form. Would his Zanpakuto do any damage? Would he be better off nuking the entire apartment complex with a cero?

He turned to the incapacitated duo again, suddenly feeling completely hopeless. He knew that the sensation might've simply been caused by the amount of purely negative energy all around him, but that wasn't likely. There was another piercing crack, this one making his ears ring, and he assumed his stance. On the one hand, he wanted to use his Resurrección to maximize the chances of him being able to do any real damage, but he was hesitating because he _knew_ that Seireitei would take _any_ excuse to hunt him down and kill him. For all he knew, drawing his zanpakuto had already sealed his fate.

There was a wave of energy that shook the very foundation of the apartment, and he recognized the feeling of Lucifer's energy. Khrai had must have been able to get him out of Ulquiorra, but would the barrier hold despite being cracked?

The white light from the caim was flickering, and the barrier was beginning to crack even more. Before he could finish throwing caution to the winds and use his Resurrección, the caim vanished and the barrier broke. Any light that had been in the room was completely obscured. The air around him seemed to freeze; he could even see frost beginning to form on his hands and blade, his chest was tight and he could hardly breathe. He brought Pantera up just as the mass of demons cascaded into him, and everything faded aside from the task at hand. Cut to the right, parry, then thrust, drive an elbow here while kicking this one away. He normally lived for these kinds of battles, where he could just mindlessly throw himself into the fray and indiscriminately kill his opponents. He thrived off the rush of combat; hell, he'd always wanted to go out swinging. It just fit for him to die in the heat of battle. But he didn't want to die like this. Not when he had someone to protect, someone depending on him.

It was then that he felt it... he turned back to Juritsu and Saeka; they were still locked together. He couldn't sense Khrai past the thickness around them, the demons swirling around them like a tornado with wide, taunting grins.

Lucifer was coming.

This was it. There was absolutely no way he was going to be able to hold off _The Devil_. This was the end. They were going to die here, and there was absolutely nothing he could do but try and prolong the inevitable. Maybe Juritsu and Saeka would snap out of their trance at an opportune moment. He could suddenly feel the multitude of lacerations he had sustained, every drop of blood that was oozing out of his gigai, the sting of every wound, the ache of every bruise. It was like his life was flashing before his eyes, though that wasn't entirely possible because he'd been dead so long he couldn't even _remember_ his life.

The demons pulled further back, and there was a sudden break in their formation, a heat stronger, darker, and blacker than anything he'd ever thought he could experience. But he didn't back down. One could say it wasn't in his nature to succumb to any survival instinct unless it involved fighting. He raised his blade, ready to take as many of Lucifer's blows as he could, so long as he kept him away from Juritsu. At the moment, her life was the only thing that mattered. Maybe he'd die and go to a better afterlife than friggen' Hueco Mundo. It was always best to think positive, right?

He didn't know where it came from, or even what happened exactly. He felt a growing energy behind him, a pulse of power perhaps greater than that of the Devil that now stood over him, clawed hand raised and ready to rip him apart in a single blow.

He recognized the energy as Juritsu's seconds before the world around him was saturated in a pure white light. When Grimmjow opened his eyes again, there wasn't so much as a trace of that dark energy remaining. It felt like his reiatsu had been burned, leaving a throbbing kind of pain in the very core of his being. That light... whatever it did, it hadn't felt good on his end. He hoped that it had felt a thousand times worse for Lucifer. But the fantasizing would have to wait. He had to make sure that Juritsu was alright.

The blue-haired Espada whirled around, dropping his sword without a second thought as he rushed over to Juritsu's motionless form. Saeka had literally vanished into thin air, and a sliver of him hoped that she hadn't been taken out in the blast, since she seemed to come with good intentions and all. But that was even pushed aside as he knelt down and cradled Juritsu in his arms.

"Oi... Juritsu, can you hear me...?"

His hands were shaky, and the new wave of anxiousness didn't help. The brunette hadn't so much as stirred. _Don't let her be dead don't let all of that be for nothing..._

Gingerly, he pressed two fingers to her carotid, checking for a pulse, and nearly sagged with relief when he founds hers, strong and healthy. _Thank god_.

There was a soft creak from the stairs, and he vaguely recognized Kaisuki's voice, "She's okay?"

Grimmjow's head snapped up to look at the pale girl; slightly startled that it was her. That was before he registered her question. Instinctively, his hold on his brunette friend tightened – perhaps to reassure himself that she was still there. "Y-yea... she's alright."

He took a moment to take in Ulquiorra's lifeless form, his heart rate not relenting one bit as an all-new wave of panic set in. There were no physical injuries that could be seen, but that didn't change the fact that the Fourth's reiatsu was barely there and Grimmjow couldn't seem to get a clear sense of a life force.

"Ulquiorra... is he...?"

Kaisuki gave him an apologetic look, "I don't know. He has a pulse, but that's about all I can tell you. When Isolde recovers, she'll be able to figure out what can be done." She continued down the stairs carefully, apparently spending a lot of strength to not drop the man.

Before Grimmjow could open his mouth to say even a word, the front door (or what was left of it, at least) promptly exploded, startling to wits out of all conscious parties. The dust cleared to reveal two very, _very_, powerful-looking men. And the power that he could sense from within the two of them... while they felt immensely similar to Juritsu's, and one of them felt even more similar compared to the other, their level of power was _astronomical_.

The shorter man (though his impressive standing-up hair tried to make up for his stature - god only knew what kind of hair products _he_ used regularly) seemed to be the more intimidating one of the two, his posture and presence commanding respect, like a natural-born leader. His dark eyes flickered to Kaisuki, then to Grimmjow, before scanning the wrecked apartment. He looked furious.

"What the hell happened here?" he demanded.

"H... honestly," Grimmjow quietly responded, know sure how to react, "I'm not sure you'd believe me if I even began to try and explain."

The man scowled in response. "Try me. The countless things I've seen would make your pathetic excuse of a life pale in comparison."

The Espada glared at the shorter male, and was about to snap back when suddenly, the taller one - his hair pointed in all _sorts_ of crazy directions - took a step forward, eyes focusing on Juritsu, and Grimmjow bristled at first. Whoever the hell these guys were, he swore to god, if they were about to try and take Juritsu away too...-

The man's eyes widened, and Grimmjow froze at the amount of concern abruptly spilling from his expression.

"Juritsu..." he muttered, voice tense with worry as he strode over and crouched down in front of them, large hand gingerly checking for a pulse. He apparently found hers, because like Grimmjow, he visibly relaxed.

"She's alright," Kaisuki spoke up as she was gingerly laying Ulquiorra down on the floor nearby, "But she'll probably be out for at least a couple hours. Well, maybe... she's surprised me with stranger things before."

The taller man glanced up at Kaisuki, a grateful smile gracing his lips, before he glanced back down at Grimmjow. Unlike the shorter man, this one was not as hard-edged, more approachable.

"Were any of your hurt badly?" he asked, catching Grimmjow off-guard with the question.

"Um... I don't think so... who are you, again?" The man's eyes blinked, before brightening in realization.

"Right! I guess it would make sense to introduce ourselves since we barged in like this! I'm Goku, and this is Vegeta. You'll have to forgive him - he's always a bit grumpy."

"That's enough, Kakarott," Vegeta snapped suddenly, and Goku rolled his eyes, "We didn't come here for a meet and greet." He glanced back down at Grimmjow, "Explain what happened here."

"Would 'we were attacked by demons' work for you?" he shot back hotly, and Vegeta's eyes narrowed at his tone, though at the moment he was too sore, and tired, and frazzled to care, "Because I doubt anything else would've wrecked my place like this."

"I don't appreciate that impudent tongue of yours, boy," Vegeta had straightened to full height, and somehow even with his short stature, he towered over him.

"Alright Vegeta, no need to pick fights," Goku cut in before things got out of hand, and he smiled at Grimmjow, "You protected Juritsu, right? Thank you."

The Sexta Espada blinked at the sudden change in topic. "Uh, yea, sure... why are you thanking me?"

Goku looked slightly bewildered. "Why wouldn't I thank you? She's my daughter."

_... What?_

"Folks, I hate to interrupt the happy moment when Grimmjow asks for Juritsu's hand in marriage," Kaisuki spoke up, her eyes glancing around the room wearily, "But I can hear sirens. We can head back to my and Juritsu's apartment... though I'm not sure how we're going to do that without _someone_ stopping us. I mean, Grimmjow's covered in blood and we'd be carrying two unconscious persons, one of whom has the appearance of a corpse."

Goku's grin widened. "Not a problem! Everyone just gather around me and place a hand on me. Make sure everyone's in contact."

Vegeta let out an exasperated sigh, but nonetheless stalked forward and placed his hand on Goku's shoulder. Grimmjow glanced questioningly at Kaisuki before shrugging and, once he had a secure hold on Juritsu, pressed a hand to Goku's free arm.

Kaisuki reached over, her other arm wrapped around Ulquiorra's shoulders. A split second later, they were in the living room of the girls' shared apartment.

"That..." Kaisuki began as she looked around incredulously, "... That works, too."

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**A/N: Yea I'm super lame for taking so long to post this. Actually the past 3 weeks I've been all across the country, literally. Right now I'm actually back in NY, after spending a week in Vegas. Fun times.  
**

**I'm about to post a crap ton of chapters though, so you all will have plenty of reading to catch up on while _KRenee_ and I continue to write in this!**

**- G**


	7. Chapter 7

******Disclaimer: Various concepts and characters have been retrieved from _Dragonball Z_ and _Bleach_ for this story; they belong to Akira Toriyama and Tite Kubo. Please note, however, that the plot, which is an original plot, is unrelated to the events that take place in DBZ and Bleach, meaning this is an AU fic. The OC's and plot belong to myself, and KRenee.**

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**VII**

"I don't really know what it was, but there was this bright light, and when it cleared everything was gone."

Grimmjow had spent the past half hour describing the recent series of events, Goku and Vegeta listening attentively.

"I'm still not sure why Juritsu was out cold, but while she and Saeka were connected, I just made sure to keep the demons away from them. I'm just glad the explosion occurred when it did..."

"The explosion was from the power Saeka and Juritsu were exerting to push out Lucifer," Kaisuki continued the explanation for him, "And from a spell that I used to bless Juritsu with power from the Goddess, Amaterasu. That was probably the only reason they were able to get him out at all; his presence is draining by itself, so I'll bet she wasn't at full strength during this little adventure."

Vegeta spoke up first, "Juritsu was telling me about a voice that would incessantly roar in her head. This started back in the fall. Is it safe to assume that the voice was Lucifer then?"

There was a pause, Kaisuki making a face as she debated the chances of that, "Uh... well, maybe... probably not, though. I'd assume that a lower-level demon was sent to weaken her so she'd be an easier target. They're annoying and draining, but Lucifer's on a whole other level. I mean, if we'd left him in there for another few hours, he would probably have caused her to go insane, assuming that she didn't die before then."

"Why her, though?" Goku spoke up, eyes wide with an almost childlike curiosity, "Why try to kill her? Is she in the way of something?"

"I... I'm not sure exactly. I've only been getting little pieces of info," Grimmjow rubbed his eyes as he recalled what Ulquiorra had told him, "Something about feeding her to the Devil... Lucifer... so I don't even know why he was trying to break her like that."

"I could probably offer you a resource willing to spill a lot of beans," Kaisuki's words had curious glances pointed in her direction, "But I need energy. A lot of energy. I'd ask Juritsu, since I know her better, but she doesn't have enough to spare for four different spirits. And she's unconscious."

Goku grinned. "Well that won't be a problem at all. You can have as much of my energy as you like!"

Vegeta snorted. "Indeed, he'll have _more_ than enough."

Kaisuki was giving him a strange look; perhaps assessing how much she needed and how much she was willing to take from an almost complete stranger. Nevertheless, she nodded, walking over to him rather shyly.

"This... might be uncomfortable. Really uncomfortable, maybe painful. I know you guys are tough, but I give fair warnings."

At Goku's reassuring nod, Kaisuki reached out and place a hand on his shoulder gingerly. The first few seconds, nothing seemed to happen. Then Grimmjow suddenly felt that enormous well of energy in Goku being drained disturbingly quickly.

At almost precisely the halfway mark between empty and full, there was a small spark of red light that flashed between them. Goku blinked, looking slightly startled, before his expression shifted to a slight glare, though it wasn't clear just what it was he was looking at. Kaisuki's head suddenly whipped back, as if she'd been punched, the blow strong enough that she stumbled and would have fallen if Goku hadn't recovered in time to catch her.

Goku looked alarmed. "H-hey! Are you okay?!"

There was a pause, and Grimmjow felt Khrai's familiar reiatsu shift to the front. He was about to warn Goku to let her go when he heard her speak.

"Let go of me, _vermin_." Shocked by her sudden change of attitude, Goku didn't react to her command fast enough for her liking. Khrai shoved him – the force of which apparently surprised him, though it didn't make him move more than a centimeter further than he already was as he quickly pulled away. She took a step back and scowled at him, eyes now a bright blue. "You can talk to Saeka-nan after we take a look at Ulquiorra-nen." She grunted, turning to Grimmjow, "Where'd you put 'im?"

Grimmjow indicated Kaisuki's room with a thumb. "In there."

She nodded, casting one last icy glare at Goku and Vegeta before walking into Kaisuki's room and slamming the door unnecessarily hard.

Goku looked completely lost. "What'd I do to make _her_ angry?" he asked, slightly sulkily.

"Never mind that, Kakarott, there are more important matters at hand."

Grimmjow spoke up before he could stop himself. "You're Juritsu's dad, right?"

Goku blinked before grinning. "Yup, that's me!"

"How is she so ridiculously powerful?"

Goku and Vegeta shared a glanced. "She wanted to keep it a secret..." Goku hesitantly replied.

"It's hardly a secret now," Vegeta shot back before turning his attention back to Grimmjow. "Juritsu is half-human. She is also half-Saiyan, something she inherited from _this_ lunk-head here."

... What? A half-_what_? The hell did that even mean? That was…-

"... Never heard of it..." Grimmjow was at a loss for words. He wracked his brain for a good minute trying to figure out if he'd really had heard the term before or not.

"You wouldn't. Saiyan's are an ancient, powerful species from the planet Vegeta. Kakarott and I are the only pure-blood Saiyan's left."

"So... she's half-alien."

"Half-_Saiyan_. Any one of us could crush you into dust with our hands tied behind our backs," Vegeta sneered.

"Alright Vegeta, I think he gets it," Goku turned back to Grimmjow, "She was trying to keep it a secret so she could avoid attention. So don't tell her we told you, 'kay?" He added a wink with a grin for emphasis.

Grimmjow blinked, slightly surprised by the request, but he completely understood Juritsu's wish for secrecy. "I'll pretend that I don't know," he reassured her father, who smiled brightly. It was sort of off-putting how cheerful the guy was. Really. His daughter had been nearly destroyed by the Devil, and he was all smiles. He knew there was a lot more to her and her background than meets the eye, but really, it was starting to get ridiculous.

The sound of a doorknob turning caught their attention, and the door to Kaisuki's room was pushed open. Grimmjow immediately recognized Isolde, but he recognized the look of incoming bad news even better.

"Grimmjow-kun, could I speak with you?"

The two Saiyans were probably thinking the same thing, as they'd immediately quieted. Grimmjow, shoulders now painfully stiff from the tension he was suddenly feeling, slowly stood up and followed Isolde into Kaisuki's bedroom, where Ulquiorra continued to lie unconscious.

Isolde closed the door behind them, leading him over to the bedside. Ulquiorra looked _worse_. He didn't know how that was even possible. There was a dark line up his neck that stopped at his jaw, but seemed to branch out halfway around this throat. His eyes were sunken and shadowed, the normally lively green marks on his face dulled almost gray. It was like he was fading away to nothing or something.

"How... how bad... is it...?" forcing the words out took a painstaking amount of effort, and a small part of him already knew the answer before Isolde spoke again.

"The damage he sustained was too great, and too deep." She silently reached over and pulled the blankets away from the Fourth's bare chest. Grimmjow stomach lurched at the sight; Ulquiorra's Hollow hole, which was supposed to be a perfect circle, was cracked all around the edges, leaving streaks of jagged black markings up his neck, down his stomach... all over, leaving him with the appearance of cracked porcelain.

"There's nothing I can do at this point," Isolde uttered the words solemnly as she pulled the blankets back up to Ulquiorra's shoulders, "He'll be dead in a day or two."

There was a very long silent that fell between the two of them. Grimmjow's mind was struggling to wrap around this.

"A day or two... huh..." his voice was dull, but it fit. He was completely numb, everything fading away besides Isolde's words.

Isolde had just opened the bedroom door, evidently intending to give him some privacy, when the sound of someone banging rather hard on the front door managed to pull his attention away from Ulquiorra's face. Especially when he heard his name.

"Grimmjow Jeagerjaques! Come out, now!" That voice was recognizable as Soifon, Taicho of the Second Division of the Gotei 13, also known as the Special Operations Unit.

Grimmjow froze, heart leaping up into his throat. Not now not now this was too soon are you _kidding me_?_!_ No choice; he had to go and face her. Evading any of _them_ pretty much signed his death warrant. _If I haven't already done that myself_.

Each step he took felt like a step to the gallows. He could feel Goku's and Vegeta's eyes on him as he opened the door, steeling himself.

"You rang?" His voice came out strained, and it hardly held the sarcastic tone he originally intended to have.

Urahara was with her - probably planning to mediate the situation if necessary. Soifon took a slight step forward, a silent demand to be invited into a home that wasn't actually Grimmjow's. A man being yelled at by invisible people on the front porch _would_ look a little strange. Or maybe she just didn't want anyone to see her beating the hell of out him.

Grimmjow sighed. "No offense, taichou," he stepped back and opened the door, exposing the occupants of the room to her presence, "But this isn't a good time, and this isn't a good place for this."

"My orders," she sneered, reaching behind her back and drawing a dagger, "Were to find you and kill you. I have no reason for discretion, _Hollow_. Step aside, _now_."

Urahara was giving him a warning look - _do what she says_. Either this guy was about to get him killed, or he was trying to save him. Whatever he was thinking, that didn't change the fact that there were a few extremely powerful aliens in the room who might just take Grimmjow's side if Soifon started a fight.

Grimmjow's eyes hardened, though he made room for them to walk in, nonetheless. "You gonna let me tell you my side of the story before jumping to conclusions?"

In a sudden flurry of movement, his back slammed into a wall, the edge of the dagger barely touching his skin. Vegeta and Goku looked ready to jump in at any moment, but Grimmjow saw Urahara hold up a hand to silently ask them to hold their ground.

Soifon's dark eyes darted back and forth between Grimmjow's blue ones, "We should've just killed you - _all_ of you - as soon as we had you in detainment," she hissed venomously, "You're a stain on the face of creation, and if it wasn't for the fact that you're serving a _purpose_ right now, I wouldn't hesitate to slit your throat right here."

She pulled back, lowering her blade, "But you should know that the _instant_ you stop being so useful, I'll kill you, whether I'm ordered to or not."

"Soifon," Urahara interrupted her then, "That's enough. He gets it. Why don't you wait for me outside?"

The woman shot her colleague an icy glare full of distrust and hate, but she did what he asked without another word.

Grimmjow let out a shaky breath he realized he hadn't been holding, as a heavy weight fell on his shoulders.

"Well that was eventful…" he almost winced at how meek his voice sounded. Pathetic attempt to play off his near-execution. Never failed; it was always something, no breaks, nothing. He couldn't please anyone, pissed everyone off instead, and made an enemy out of the entire world. What was the point? It wasn't like he was _looking_ for a fight anymore.

"Grimmjow," Urahara somehow managed to get him to make eye contact. It only lasted about three seconds before he diverted his gaze, but evidently that was enough. The blonde's expression shifted, concern showing through.

"Is everything alright?"

He wanted to laugh. What kind of stupid question was that? No, everything _wasn't_ alright. Ulquiorra was dying in just the other room, his life was in jeopardy even when he was trying to protect someone precious to him, and the legions of Hell were after him and everyone he cared about. _Nothing_ was alright, you stupid son of a-…

"It's not like you fucking Shinigami bastards would do anything about it if things _weren't_ alright," he snarled hatefully instead, fists clenched tightly. A lump was lodging itself in his throat, and it was threatening to choke him. He knew his reiatsu was raging about inside of him, dangerously close to flaring out, and he almost didn't care, "To them, I'm just a waste of space, and they'll party it up as soon as I kick it."

Urahara nodded slowly, his gaze knowing, "There isn't much I can do, you're right," he reached into his kimono, producing a short, thick leather rope with something inscribed on it, "Wrap this around your Zanpakuto's hilt. It'll mask its reiatsu. As long as you don't use your Resurrección, they won't be able to tell if you draw it."

He was as mystifying as usual as he tipped his hat, an apologetic smile gracing his features, "Take care, Grimmjow... It's probably the least I'll ever ask of you, ne?"

Grimmjow's lips twisted into a bitter smile, accepting the item from the blonde with silent appreciation. It'd help a little bit, and he supposed the only thing he could do at this point was hope the situation from earlier wouldn't repeat itself. "That'll be easier said than done."

The Shinigami didn't reply as he excused himself from the apartment, leaving a stifling silence in his wake. There were thousands of questions just _hanging_ in the air, waiting to be confronted, and as the seconds ticked by, Grimmjow realized he wouldn't be having any of it. Yes, he was pretty much a fugitive, yes, he did a lot of pretty bad shit while at Hueco Mundo, but who hadn't? At least his reasons weren't psychotic. And he'd learned – that bastard Kurosaki had knocked a little bit of sense into him, and that was why he was here wasn't it?_!_ He wasn't trying to start trouble, wasn't going back to his old ways… so why couldn't Seireitei just leave him alone?_!_

It was too much to take in, not without letting it all out, his pent-up emotions. And the scene that everyone had just witnessed did nothing to alleviate the situation. He was about ready to bolt from the pair of staring, awkward gazes that were trying not to be directed at him when someone's hand gently touched his arm. Grimmjow looked up from the floor, meeting Isolde's gaze. It wasn't pity in her eyes... that would've immediately infuriated him.

There wasn't really a word he could use to place that honest warmth, and it wasn't like his brain was functional enough to be producing vocabulary anyway. She circled her fingers around his forearm and started pulling him away from the door. She led him across the living room and back into Kaisuki's room. Ulquiorra was still unconscious, but she didn't take him to the comatose man's side. Instead, she sat him down on a loveseat in front of a window. The lights flicked off, though he could guess that Isolde must've used some kind of magic to make that happen.

"Grimmjow," her voice was soft, warm... kind. He hadn't heard this tone of voice before. Not that he remembered. She sat down beside him, watching him almost expectantly, "You're safe here, okay? No one can feel or hear anything outside of this room. So don't feel like you have to hold anything back." She took his hand in hers, squeezing comfortingly. "It's just you and me, okay?"

He had absolutely no idea how she did it, or what she did to get the effect out of him, but all at once it was like a storm of emotions just welled up inside of him. The lump he'd just finally managed to swallow back down returned with a vengeance, and his reiatsu began to envelope him

"Why..." he ground out through his tightly clenched jaw, shoulders tensing painfully as he fought against his turbulent reiatsu, "Ulquiorra's going to die and it's my fault. I'm pretty much on death row, and because of it, the only thing I can do to protect Juritsu is wave my sword around uselessly and pray that maybe I'll poke the Devil's eye and guarantee a quick death! Damn it!" He slammed his fist into the arm of the loveseat, ignoring the smashing sound it'd made, "What the hell am I supposed to do now?!"

...

In the murkiness of semi-consciousness, she could hear a familiar voice. She'd heard it before, after that one terrible first night that she'd gone out with Grimmjow. What had her name been? Aiso...?

"_Isolde_," she corrected gently. "_If you're awake and able, Grimmjow needs someone who knows him better than I, someone who understands the plight of battlefield helplessness better than I. Would you mind, Juritsu?_"

_Grimmjow…_

The half-Saiyan's eyes flew open and she fell out of her bed. It didn't faze her and she staggered to her feet, legs wobbly from her lack of energy and muscles screaming from protest but she didn't care. Grimmjow was hurting and needed her; that was all that mattered.

She nearly plummeted through her bedroom door, but managed to catch herself as she slammed it open regardless, stopping dead in her tracks as she took in the two Saiyans sitting on her couch, staring at her in shock.

She swayed precariously and blinked. "_Dad_?" she asked incredulously.

A wide, relieved smile spread on Goku's lips at the sound of her voice, and he sprang up, striding over to her side. "You're awake!" he exclaimed, offering her a hand for physical support, "How do you feel?"

Juritsu gratefully accepted her father's help and leaned on him slightly as she tried to force her muscles to wake up. "A bit tired... where's Grimmjow?"

As if the gods had heard her question, the door to Kaisuki's door flew open, revealing her blue-haired friend in question. And he looked like a _wreck_; his normally wild hair actually looked disheveled, and his skin looked much paler than usual. His eyes were wide with disbelief, but that hadn't caught her attention as much as the well of emotions within them. He looked so lost and... afraid? Just what had happened while she was out?

A silence stretched between them for a very long moment. After making sure that her knees wouldn't buckle on their own accord, Juritsu released her father's arm, turning to face her friend, who'd taken a uncertain step towards her, as if he was unsure of what he was seeing.

"Gr-... Grimmjow...?" Juritsu felt a little nervous. As far as appearances went, Grimmjow looked moments away from snapping.

He closed the distance between them abruptly, almost startling Juritsu, and tentatively reached out to touch her arm, most likely as a reaffirmation.

"You're okay, right?" his voice was slightly hoarse, and she could _hear_ the pent-up emotion barely kept in check

Her heart wrenched in empathy. Holding his gaze, she slowly reached up and cupped his cheek, rubbing it for a long moment and giving him a smile. "I'm sorry for worrying you," she soothed, moving to wrap her arms around him in a tight embrace, "You were looking out for me... thank you."

He'd stiffened at first, clearly caught off-guard from the gesture, but she felt him sag, not relaxed, but drained. A moment later, she felt his arms wind around her.

"Thank god," he breathed, "_Finally_, something's going right..."

Juritsu pondered for a moment, wondered if she should ask what he'd meant, and decided that he'd tell her when he was ready. Everyone had skeletons in their closets, after all. So, she carefully tightened her embrace, allowing him to lean on her, regardless of how her legs wanted to give. Saiyan blood coursed through her veins after all; pushing through her exhaustion wouldn't be an issue if it meant helping her friend.

* * *

**A/N: Nothing much to say here; hope you enjoy it! Still more to come!**

**- G**


	8. Chapter 8

******Disclaimer: Various concepts and characters have been retrieved from _Dragonball Z_ and _Bleach_ for this story; they belong to Akira Toriyama and Tite Kubo. Please note, however, that the plot, which is an original plot, is unrelated to the events that take place in DBZ and Bleach, meaning this is an AU fic. The OC's and plot belong to myself, and KRenee.**

* * *

**VIII**

Juritsu woke the following morning to the sound of someone cooking. Judging by the energy signature, it was Khrai. She had disappeared late the previous night after threatening Grimmjow with increasing amounts of violence until he gave in and agreed to stay over. He'd spent the night in Kaisuki's room, probably sitting vigil over Ulquiorra the entire time, even after Khrai had told him that he'd better try to sleep or she'd beat him into unconsciousness. The blonde herself had probably slept on the couch - assuming that she'd come back early enough to have bothered with sleep at all.

She almost felt a little hesitant coming out, not wanting to disturb the apparent calm, but nevertheless, the brunette stepped out into the living room regardless. Her blue-haired classmate was nowhere to be seen - reinforcing her theory that he was diligently posted by Ulquiorra's side - but she quickly caught sight of Khrai.

"What are you making?" she asked as she walked up to the island in the middle of the room and leaned against it. The scent wasn't something she recognized, and wasn't sure what to make of it. Whatever it was, it was almost painfully strong.

Khrai glanced over at her briefly before returning her attention to the pot she was using, "Freshly picked thyme, rosemary, and angelica boiled in holy water."

Holy water... where had Khrai gotten holy water from? The only time she'd ever heard of it was way back when she was a child, when Garlic Jr. had re-attempted to take over the world. She'd assumed that it was a rare commodity.

It took a moment to figure out the concoction was likely for the person Grimmjow and Khrai had collectively informed her about. Ulquiorra had apparently been the source of the dark energy she'd sensed in her friend's apartment, due to possession. While she didn't know him personally, she hoped, for Grimmjow's sake, that he would pull through.

"Juritsu-nan," Khrai's voice broke her out of her thoughts, "Would you mind doing me a big favor?"

Juritsu blinked, and glanced over at the blonde. "Um, sure," she replied, slightly unsure of what else to say.

"Sorry for sending you on an errand without even supplying you with friggen' breakfast," Khrai dipped a finger in the boiling water with a concentrated look on her face. Juritsu blanched at the action - didn't that _hurt_ typical people? Though Khrai wasn't what she'd call typical... "Could you get me a plain white sheet? Gotta be a hundred percent pure cotton, nothing extra in the mix. If you can't find one at the market, try a fabric store, they got all the good shit…"

She trailed off, glancing away from her herbal mixture and frowning deeply, "N' take Grimmjow-nen with you. Poor bitch probably needs all the sunlight he can get at this point."

That was a weird and random request, and no matter what she did, Juritsu couldn't think of a reason as to why exactly a sheet was needed. Nevertheless, it had to be done. She grinned at Khrai, who simply nodded thankfully at her.

As she stood in front of the door to Kaisuki's room, where she could clearly feel Grimmjow's presence, Juritsu paused, and was completely perplexed as her heart started racing. Why was she so nervous all of a sudden? They were just going to the store; it wasn't like they were going on a date! And why the hell had a date even come to mind in the first place?_!_

For a moment, she contemplated just going herself, but Khrai was right. Grimmjow had been in that room overnight, and she could only thank her lucky stars that it was now the weekend, because she was positive that her blue-haired friend hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. Getting out and getting some fresh air would do him some good, right?

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Juritsu gently knocked on the door before quietly letting herself in.

Grimmjow really hadn't moved from his post at Ulquiorra's bedside, and he looked worse for wear. His eyes hadn't strayed from his friend's motionless form, and the demi-Saiyan wasn't sure if he'd even registered her presence.

She approached him, slightly tentative, and came to a stop by his side. There was a long moment in which nothing was said, and Juritsu took that time to really feel the tension in the room. Concern, fear, anger, weighed down the air like a thick, suffocating blanket, and it made her heart wrench. Grimmjow was suffering, way more than he was letting on to anybody. He was always like that... quietly carrying his burden, not letting anyone in to take some weight off his shoulders and support him. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out why he seemed to prefer solitary misery.

But she didn't want to see him in such pain anymore.

That feeling of being alone in the world, she knew it all too well; coping with her father's death and his decision to stay in the Afterlife. The first few of those several years were hellish. Lashing out at the loved ones who tried to support her, especially Gohan, she isolated herself for a long time, nearly drowning in resentment towards her twin for the events of that day. She'd never felt so lost before in her life. It'd taken her a long time to come around, and only then it was from the persistence of her friends and family, namely Vegeta, who'd somehow become a father figure for her in the years of Goku's absence. Without them, she wasn't sure where she would've ended up.

She inhaled slowly once more before placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. It'd surprised her, the way his body heat radiated through her palm. He blinked, eyes focusing and glancing up at her. He looked taken aback by her presence, as if he was expecting to remain alone.

She smiled in response to the slightly questioning look in his eyes and offered her free hand. "Come with me?"

Several emotions crossed those cerulean eyes of his; confusion, worry, uncertainty, nervousness.

Juritsu only widened her smile in response. _Trust me, Grimmjow._

After a long moment of silence, gazes held steady, the blue-haired classmate reached and grasped her offered hand, returning her reassuring squeeze.

_I trust you_.

...

"You know, I thought it'd be easier than this to find a 100% cotton sheet..."

Grimmjow quietly hummed in response, looking over the packaged bed sheets, not really looking like he was paying much attention to anything in real time. Everything about him read as distracted; clearly he was preoccupied with Ulquiorra and his condition. Juritsu sighed, feeling slightly useless in the whole situation as she pulled out her cell phone.

_No luck with the sheet =/_

What could she do? Obviously Grimmjow was perfectly justified to be worrying about his friend. But it was unhealthy the amount of stress he was putting himself under. Surely, she could do something about that, right?

But even as they moved from shelf to shelf, quietly examining each group of packages, Juritsu couldn't help but feel like the only thing she was accomplishing was making him feel restless about Ulquiorra. Clearly the fallen friend was the only thing on his mind.

_tried the fabric store already?_

She frowned at the message and typed her reply: _every fabric store and department store in town_

_find a store that sells witchery and magic. and make it snappy_

Juritsu glared at her phone as she refrained from sending a slightly scathing text, and shoved it back into her pocket. A witchcraft store... yea, because the half-Saiyan made it a habit to regularly visit witchcraft stores to buy frog legs and newt brains and whatever the hell else they bloody sold. Did such a thing even _exist_?

There was a five minute pause before her phone vibrated again. Another message from Khrai - _theres a store called the huntress' den three blocks south from you. tell the storeowner its for your sisters._

The brunette scowled at the message before replying with a brisk "K." Letting out an exasperated sigh, she pocketed her phone... and found Grimmjow staring at her quizzically. All at once, the butterflies fluttered to life in her stomach, and her ears grew warm.

"Ah, I... Khrai, you know... she's rude..." she managed, feeling like an idiot. She honestly didn't think she could sound any dumber.

"What'd she say?" he prompted after a slightly awkward pause, and for a brief moment, Juritsu had no idea what he was talking about.

"Oh, right. Um, well, there's a place not too far from where we are, and it sells witchcraft stuff."

Grimmjow raised an eyebrow at that. "Why the hell does she think a 100% cotton sheet would be sold at a _witchcraft store_?"

Juritsu shrugged helplessly. Hell if she knew, and besides that, they'd looked everywhere else. "No harm in checking?" she suggested weakly, and Grimmjow shrugged in response.

"Might as well." He sounded impatient. She supposed it was to be expected of him, she realized as her heart sank. Ulquiorra's health was more important than wasting the afternoon chasing down a sheet with her (since she didn't have the stellar looks that Lily freakin' had and all, of course). As she trudged behind him, she tried to not take it too personally, and mentally berated herself for feeling all crestfallen in the first place. They were friends, nothing more, nothing less.

And yet, as she continued to remind herself of that, her mood only continued to sour.

…

Khrai stepped out of the bathroom to greet Grimmjow and Juritsu as she heard the sound of the front door opening. She hadn't gotten any texts from the brunette since the one stating that they had "found the store." The girl's phone had probably either shorted out or spontaneously died. Khrai had been half-expecting something of the sort anyway, so she hadn't gotten worried. Witches had a knack for screwing with electronics like phones and computers simply by being around them. The blonde elf didn't have this problem (so long as she wasn't actively casting spells). Probably had something to do with the fact that she was dead.

When they stepped far enough into the house to see her, Khrai's gaze swept over their persons briefly before her attention settled on Grimmjow, "Find it alright?" She didn't sense anything latched onto him. Thank god. He looked uncomfortable, shifting around almost restlessly as he clenched and unclenched his fists a few times. That was probably a result him stepping through the angelica. She needed to stop forgetting that he was a Hollow.

Juritsu handed her the plastic bag she had been carrying. Likely, the sheet was in the bag. "Yea it wasn't too much of a problem," Juritsu remarked off-handedly, and Khrai noticed how the brunette's eyes kept drifting over to Grimmjow.

"Hey," Khrai's attention centered on Grimmjow entirely, and she frowned deeply, "Stop being such a drama queen."

Grimmjow shot her a glare before rolling his eyes and wordlessly stalking through the living room out to the balcony.

Juritsu watched him go, a frown on her face. "I really don't know how to comfort him," she almost sounded apologetic, "Actually, every time I think about it, I realize that... I don't really know _him_ that well. And that's why I don't know what to do."

Khrai wondered if the look she was giving Juritsu was as incredulous as she was hoping. The younger woman seemed to wilt slightly under the gaze, so she must've been doing it right.

"Juritsu-nan, his brother-in-arms is on his deathbed, and I highly doubt Grimmjow-nen's the type to respond well to false comfort," she smiled, slightly exasperated, "You don't know many members of the opposite sex, do you?"

At Juritsu's bewildered look, Khrai chuckled, "Excluding family, Juritsu-nan. You'd be better off giving him a beer and telling him the truth."

Juritsu's eyebrows furrowed. If anything, she looked even more confused. "The truth...?"

The blonde nodded with a smirk, "Ulquiorra-nen's not going anywhere. I promise," She looked towards the window to the balcony, where Grimmjow was staring out at the too-sunny and too-cheery outdoors. She'd been able to practically taste the gloom in Kaisuki's room earlier. How was anyone supposed to have any chance of recovering in _that_ kind of environment? She was surprised Ulquiorra hadn't died of second-hand depression in the middle of the night.

It was faint, but she heard it – almost like a mewling, a soft call. Her gaze hardened, blue eyes scanning the air around Grimmjow's person. It was the slightest thing – a shift in the shadows where there was no breeze, but it was something that the blue-haired man should've been able to pick up on easily. He didn't seem to react at all, even as the shadows of the house next door shifted more obviously, wisps of demonic, shadowy hands reaching weakly for him, wanting to feed on the strength of his anguish. They were repelled by the angelica, but if more of them came along, they were going to be in a bit of trouble.

She frowned deeply and stepped over to the balcony door, briefly forgetting that Juritsu was even present. Khrai pulled the glass door open, and with that window no longer obscuring her vision, she could see them even clearer. Juritsu probably couldn't – these weren't normal, Hell-born demons, and they weren't nearly strong enough to form a physical appearance to those who weren't so well-versed in the Otherworld.

"Grimmjow-nen," she didn't try to mask her feelings on the subject, instead allowing the concern and wariness flavor her tone (though, in his current condition, she wasn't sure he'd notice), "Come back inside."

Grimmjow glanced over his shoulder at her. "Why?" his tone was calm, albeit strained.

This was plain ridiculous. Those things were literally within arms reach of his face, and he couldn't see them? Had he gone selectively blind?_!_ But, she gently reminded herself, she needed to try and exercise some patience with him. If she pissed him off, he'd probably bolt, and then he'd _definitely_ get killed in some horrific fashion. That was the last thing she wanted right about now.

She mentally cursed the fact that she knew there were demons crawling all over the place and she couldn't risk mentioning Ulquiorra or anything remotely relevant to the truth until he was indoors. "Because I asked you nicely, so please come inside."

He sighed, scowling as he turned around, absentmindedly swatting around him as if searching for a mosquito. Khrai stepped out of his way, allowing him to enter the house before she did and closing the balcony door behind her. She paused thoughtfully with her hand on the knob, and then decisively locked the door and wretched the shades over it.

She then turned back to the wallowing little boy and let out what would probably be the loudest, most exasperated sigh anyone in the room had ever heard, "Holy fucking shit, are you _blind_ or just _stupid_?"

Grimmjow seemed to take the bait easily enough. It was like he was waiting to pick a fight. "Honestly, I'm not in the mood for your shit," he snapped.

It wasn't like Khrai thought that Grimmjow deserved any of this nonsense - from the demons on his tail to the loss of his brethren. She sympathized with his grief, she really did. She'd been there before - it was the grief and loneliness that had led to her untimely death at the ripe age of twenty-three. Sure, it'd been nearly seven thousand years ago, but the feeling was still fresh in her heart.

But that didn't excuse his behavior at all. As a seasoned fighter, a _warrior_ going into _battle_, he should know better than to allow himself to be truly blinded by misery, anger… anything, really.

And it most certainly didn't mean that she was any less pissed off about his utter obliviousness, "Honestly, _I_ don't have the patience or the time to spend watching you like you're fucking five to make sure you don't do something retarded and get your dumb ass _killed_!"

"Who do you think I am? You think I _didn't_ notice them?" he shot back hotly, almost visibly bristling, "I could've wiped them out with my eyes closed! Quit underestimating me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, let me clarify something really fast," She spat furiously, "Are we talking about those little spirits on the balcony just now, or the steadily increasing number of demons that are posting themselves all over this fucking neighborhood so they can lay in wait for an opportune moment to rip you to shreds?"

Grimmjow briefly gritted his teeth, having finally lost his temper. "I told you **not to underestimate me**!" he grabbed his Pantera and stormed over to the door, "I'd rather go out there than sit here and do fucking nothing! Those pansy-ass demons you're so afraid of are a fucking walk in the park for me, and I'll prove it right now!"

**"**Holy mother of-… does losing people always turn you into a raving idiot?_!_" Her voice was rapidly rising in volume, all sense of sympathies and reminders to _not_ piss Grimmjow off escaping her. He grabbed the doorknob and wrenched it open, only to have it ripped out of his grip as it slammed shut again at Khrai's will – _nuh-uh, you ain't getting off that easy, you little_ – and Grimmjow turned back to face her with a murderous glare. "Or is it just the fact that you know how utterly fucking useless you are, and you can't handle it?_!_"

"Don't act like you know me," he snarled, grip tightening on the hilt of Pantera, "Unless you're volunteering to be my punching bag for the next several hours, I suggest you get the fuck out of my way-…"

Juritsu's voice abruptly thundered over their bickering. "ENOUGH!"

Grimmjow immediately silenced, almost taken aback by the sudden outburst. Khrai's attention snapped to Juritsu, blue eyes flashing. The demi-Saiyan was not at all intimidated by the elf's glare, instead drawing herself up to stand tall and unwavering, regarding both of them with a fierce gaze.

"Of all the times to be going at each other's throats, this is the worst time to do it," the brunette continued, voice strong, "As far as I've been told, we're neighbors to the Gates of Hell, and fighting amongst ourselves is only going to get us all killed! Calm yourselves!"

_Right_, Khrai reminded herself chidingly, _Priorities... Jeez, since when do I let anyone piss me off that easily?_

She pointedly ignored Isolde sniggering in the background of her mind and looked to the nearest clock. It was almost quarter after three. If she didn't get her act together, she would have to wait until tomorrow. Ulquiorra probably wouldn't even last that long.

She glanced back at Juritsu, nodding silently in acknowledgment. At least _someone_ around her was keeping a cool head. Finally, she turned her gaze back to Grimmjow, keeping her expression as neutral as possible.

"Ulquiorra-nen's not goin' anywhere," Khrai stated, swallowing down the urge to insult him at the end of her sentence. "I'm gonna save him."

Grimmjow gave her an incredulous look, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Isolde said there was nothing she could do," he countered.

"In case you hadn't notice, I'm not Isolde-nan," She replied flatly, turning away and walking over to the bathroom door, grabbing the sheet she'd abandoned on the couch, "My abilities are not limited to the living."

As she was laying the cloth flat at the bottom of the water-filled tub, she called back out into the living room, "If there are any windows open, I'd like them all closed and locked! Same with the doors!"

Grimmjow and Juritsu glanced at each other for a moment, Juritsu shrugging before the two of them took care of the windows and doors.

Out of all the parts of this particular spell, Khrai was looking forward to _this_ part the least. She pulled open Kaisuki's bedroom door, doing her best not to gag on the cloud of dark energy hanging around the room like a bad smell. She crossed the room swiftly, all but ripping the blankets off Ulquiorra. There was a soft squelching noise that followed, and she glanced at the bed linens. There was black ooze staining them, and when she looked back at Ulquiorra, she could see that it was practically dripping out of the cracks in his gray skin. Gross.

"This is a little worse than I thought," even as she said those words aloud, eying the damage and scowling, new cracks were forming and old ones were splitting wider.

"If you're gonna kill someone slowly," she grunted, digging her hands under Ulquiorra and doing her best to ignore the feeling of that black goo smearing up her arms, "The least you can do is not make a huge fucking mess, Lucifer-nen." She hefted him up, fleetingly wondering if he was usually this feather-light, and headed for the bathroom. The all-but-corpse in her arms was pretty much dripping all over her clothes, and she could feel it soaking through both layers and irritating her skin. She was going to take the _longest_ shower after this spell... and after she finished cleaning out the bathtub.

She wasted absolutely no time placing Ulquiorra in the water, making sure he was fully submerged. Almost immediately, the water started to cloud. _Gross_. After spending a brief moment sprinkling more angelica in front of the door, she turned to Grimmjow and Juritsu.

"I'm going to close this door," she stated, indicating the entrance to the bathroom, "Don't open it for _any_ reason. I don't care if the god damn house catches fire; this door stays shut. You might hear screaming, or smell something burning, or see smoke. Ignore it, keep the house closed up, and don't go outside. We clear about that?"

Grimmjow tensed at that, clearly not liking the fact that his comrade would likely be in pain. Juritsu glanced over at him, sympathy crossing her expression before she looked back towards the blonde.

"We got it."

Khrai noticed the way Grimmjow averted his gaze, the way his shoulders stiffened. She sighed. It wasn't like Ulquiorra wasn't in pain _right now_, but he probably wasn't the one they were going to be listening to. She sincerely hoped that they hadn't been especially close to anyone dead. She nodded at Juritsu, and headed back into the bathroom, glancing down to make sure that she didn't break the angelica line before shutting the door. The water that Ulquiorra was submerged in was almost completely black. **_Gross_**.

She got down on her knees at the side of the tub, reaching into the water and cupping her patient's cheeks, muttering the enchantment before closing her eyes and dipping her head into the water, pressing her forehead to Ulquiorra's.

...

He was trying. He really was. Sitting still had never been something he particularly enjoyed, but it had never been quite this difficult. He felt like jumping up and running laps around the planet for a few hours. He'd slightly altered his position on the couch four times in the past seven minutes. Juritsu wasn't openly staring at him, but he knew that she was probably well aware of the anxiety running through him.

Grimmjow was attempting to watch the clock in an effort to calm his nerves. It wasn't working. In fact, it stopped working entirely when the clock abruptly forgot its purpose in life and ceased its mindless ticking. He stared at it for a moment, wondering if that was because of Khrai's ritual. Juritsu shifted on the couch, drawing his attention away from the timepiece. She was watching the door to the bathroom. He had been trying to avoid that for the duration of the past fifteen minutes, but it seemed he no longer had a choice. He looked over, easily spotting the tendrils of dark smoke making their way under the door. The smoke itself seemed to disappear into the air. That was good; suffocating _now _would've made this whole episode of his existence pretty pointless.

He watched the smoke carefully, tracing it with his eyes. It was a decent distraction for the amount of time he could concentrate on it. There was an odd flavor staining the back of his tongue. Grimmjow pointedly ignored the way Juritsu glanced over at him as he cleared his throat forcefully. There was a growing stench in the air that was making his stomach churn. Once upon a time, he would've been inappropriately excited by the scent of burning flesh, but that was a long time ago. He was about ready to vomit. He glanced over at Juritsu; she didn't look nauseated at all. In fact, she looked like she was sniffing the air to identify the odor. Probably didn't smell the same thing he did. Lucky.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye for a long time, blocking out the pulsing feeling in his gut, the aching behind his eyes. He didn't quite know why this was affecting him so much more than it was affecting Juritsu, but if he had to guess it was probably related to the fact that he was dead. Grimmjow lowered his gaze to his lap, concentrating on getting a handle on his distressed stomach.

"_Sa… ru… ke… keru… Sake… ru…_"

Grimmjow piqued at the voice, glancing around. Juritsu hadn't moved an inch, didn't seem to react, instead continuing to eye the dark tendrils of smoke... so did that mean she couldn't hear it?

"_Sakeru! Sakeru! Help me! Help! Sakeru!_"

His search for the source of the calling brought him to staring at the door. The voice wasn't Ulquiorra's, and it didn't sound like Khrai either. So who the hell was it?

There was a strange pull coming from within, reaching out. He felt drawn to that voice, but he didn't know why. His heart began to race in anxiety. He needed to do something, but he didn't! Who the hell was Sakeru and why the hell did it have something to do with him?_!_

_Get out of my fucking head!_

The stench of burning flesh, the sight of the black smoke that had increased in volume to a point of billowing out from every opening around the door, that strange voice and the inexplicable pull he felt to it... his hands closed into fists. He felt like he was gonna freakin' throw up.

"_Sakeru, don't leave me, please…_"

"…mm… jow…"

"_Sakeru!_"

"Grimm..."

"_I love you, Sakeru._"

"Grimmjow!"

_Juritsu...?_

The brunette was staring at him, a look of concern in her eyes. Suddenly, Grimmjow felt chilled, and… was he trembling?

"Hey..." she scooted closer to him on the couch, looking slightly unsure of what to do, "Are you alright?"

He wasn't even sure what to tell her. Alright? Far from it. But it wasn't like she was going to believe him if he told her he was hearing some random name in his head and smelling death, and no matter what he seemed to do he couldn't block it all out he just needed to get the hell out of here and-...

A hand on his shoulder almost made him jump. How and when did he stop paying attention? Juritsu was still watching him worriedly, and the heat from her hand was radiating through his shirt as she squeezed his shoulder in a gesture of comfort.

"You keep... zoning out," she spoke slowly, "Are you okay?"

There was a long pause, almost unnecessarily long as Grimmjow pulled his mind together long enough to think of a quick excuse.

"Just stressed..." he mumbled, and Juritsu let out a sigh, giving him an exasperated smile. Well clearly he'd have to lie better next time if he wanted to reassure her.

"You look physically ill," her voice held a chiding, yet gentle undertone.

"Yea, stress does that," he replied with a snap, almost immediately regretting it when he saw her blink, surprised, before backing away.

"I... yea, sorry..." she looked away with an awkward chuckle, "Didn't mean to be nosy..."

He mentally berated himself. He couldn't be taking his pent up anger out on her - after all, it wasn't like she _wanted_ to be the target of the entirety of Hell. And he'd refrained from telling her anything other than some bullshit about Hell trying to come out and them happening to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"No, don't worry about it..." he spoke up, keeping his gaze averted to the floor. His fists clenched when the voice called out once again, "There's a lot going on right now, that's all."

There was a small pause before she quietly replied, "I understand."

He heard the underlying message easily enough: _I won't bother you._

It wasn't like he was trying to push her away, not intentionally. As selfish as it was, he was merely protecting himself. But could anyone blame him? He left Hueco Mundo, which would've resulted in Hollows labeling him as a traitor, had they not all been wiped out. Soul Society had wanted his head from day one, and it was unlikely that **that **would ever change. On Earth, among humans, he was a freak, even if he once was a human when he was alive. He had no place where he belonged.

But perhaps that was why he was so drawn to Juritsu from the moment he first met her. She was a freak too. And granted, no normal human would've realized this; she was good at hiding her strength and her speed. He certainly wasn't sure if what he sensed was a fluke at first, but now he could feel how she held herself back.

But he _did_ realize it was real, and it helped coping with the isolation he felt on occasion, living in the human world. Juritsu, in a way, had become an anchor, a fall back, as much as he hated admitting it. She had become someone he could rely on. And he would tell her his secrets, as soon as the time was right. She was his friend, after all.

Before he could say anything, however, there was a sudden pressure that filled the room. Juritsu felt it as well - he noticed the way she stiffened beside him and Grimmjow lifted his gaze again. A familiar young girl stepped out of thin air, looking over at the duo and grinning. That had to be the most terrifying thing Grimmjow had ever seen.

"I'm back," Saeka greeted nonchalantly, glancing at the bathroom door. She tilted her head slightly, smile fading a bit, "That bad, huh?"

So she _had_ survived that blast. Good; he didn't know too much about her, but she came across to him as someone who would make a valuable ally.

Abruptly, he realized that she'd asked a question. "It's been about 30 minutes since she shut that door. I don't know if that means anything or not, but aside from that, nothing's happened.

Saeka nodded, "He got pitched pretty far down. That why it's taking so long." She looked at Juritsu, "Are you better now, Juritsu-san?"

Juritsu blinked at suddenly being addressed. "I do... thanks," she responded, giving Saeka a grateful smile.

"That's good," she replied as she looked back to the bathroom door. It was then that Grimmjow suddenly noticed that the calling in his head had stopped. He followed Saeka's gaze; the smoke had stopped as well, and that stench had dissipated, replaced by a subtle aroma of spices.

"Somebody get a blanket!" Khrai's voice suddenly barked through the door, "But not the ones on Kaisuki-nan's bed! They're covered in sludge!"

As Juritsu was jumping up to race into her room, the bathroom door opened and Khrai stepped out into the living room. Ulquiorra was shaking all over in her arms, his hair wet. The blonde who was carrying him looked positively exhausted as she walked over to the couch, gingerly setting him down. After pulling her arms out from underneath him, she immediately started rubbing his upper arms vigorously. Ulquiorra himself didn't seem entirely keen on her moving away from him, either, as he gripped the front of her black dress with trembling hands. Evidently, the loose, gray t-shirt she usually wore as a top layer had been discarded.

Grimmjow's eyes were wide as he'd quickly jumped out of Khrai's way. He scoured his kin's entire reiatsu, finding no trace of the dark energy that had possessed Ulquiorra before. So... did that mean...?

Juritsu brushed past him - he hadn't even sensed her re-emerge from her room - and hurried over to Khrai, pushing her lightly out of the way and wrapping Ulquiorra in the blanket.

"I... pre-warmed the blanket. I hope it helps."

Thanks," Khrai replied sincerely, "He's fine now, Grimmjow-nen. He'll probably be asleep for a while, but he's fine." She straightened up, spotting Saeka, "_There_ you are! Where the hell've you been?"

The girl in question shrugged, "Got thrown all the way to Hueco Mundo, and I decided that I might as well do a little recon while I was out."

Khrai grimaced as she walked over to the island between the kitchen and the living room as sat down heavily, "How was it?"

"Arid. And empty," was the simple reply, "You look pretty worn out."

"If you hadn't taken so long to get back, you could've told me that he'd been kicked into the fucking Pit, you snarky little-..." she tailed off, coughing lightly and wincing, "My throat's killing me. Fuck it, anyone else gets thrown to the Pit they can friggen _stay there_."

Grimmjow was studying Ulquiorra extensively. "How did you get back?" he asked off-handedly. The only way that anyone could get back was the use of a Garganta, and yet he definitely didn't see or sense one when she randomly appeared.

"Trans-dimensional rift," Saeka answered frankly, heading into the kitchen. It was kind of interesting to watch her pull out a glass and fill it with cold water; the way she maneuvered her talons was impressive, considering how long they were. She brought the cup over to Khrai, who gratefully accepted it and pretty much downed the whole thing in one gulp.

"Did you figure anything out during your self-proclaimed recon?" The blonde asked as she set the glass down.

Saeka nodded, and Grimmjow noticed the way she glanced over at him uncertainly, "Yes, and no..." she replied slowly, as if choosing her words carefully.

"Spit it out, devochka."

"Hueco Mundo was empty. Not a soul left in there," Saeka let out a heavy sigh, "I had hoped that maybe I could find someone to talk to, but there's no one left. At all."

Grimmjow gave pause, growing silent. Hueco Mundo was generally a desolate place, but the way Saeka had looked at him as she said those words...

Gone. Every one of them, gone. His brethren... dead. _How? Why?_!

Hot, hot anger began to course through his veins. Granted, he hated Las Noches, but Hueco Mundo... for a long time that was his home. And now...

The room once again, was suffocating him. This time, however, he didn't really have anywhere to run to, did he?

There was a stiff silence before Khrai spoke again, "Do you know where everybody went?"

"Lucifer's been locked in a cage for a long time," Saeka stated, her well of dark energy simmering. Anyone who paid any attention could tell that she was furious, "Because he kept eating up all the souls in Hell, and souls are worth more than gold in the Afterworlds because of the amount of raw energy they're made of. When he was finally let out last summer, he was pretty hungry... so they set him loose in Hueco Mundo. And he ate everything in sight."

His reiatsu was _boiling_. Honestly, he didn't even know how he hadn't erupted. But it was the fucking _Devil_ himself. Nearly killed Ulquiorra, was constantly hunting Juritsu, and he had gone ahead and destroyed his home?

"Every-..." Khrai began slowly, but paused, brow furrowing, "Why'd he spare Ulquiorra-nen?"

Saeka's head bowed slightly, her black hair falling further into her face. The pause was deafening, and Grimmjow wasn't entirely sure he wanted to hear her answer. He was already on the verge of exploding. He didn't think he'd be able to take hearing anything more about-...

"Because he begged."

Grimmjow's fisted slammed into the table, punching through it with a snarl. His reiatsu flared out in the form of a hot, hot shockwave, but he didn't care, oh no. The only thing on his mind was spilling blood.

He wrenched his hand back out, grabbed Pantera, and stalked towards the door.

"Grimmjow?_!_" Juritsu's voice somehow reached him through the buzzing in his head.

"DON'T FOLLOW ME!" he roared, glaring over his shoulder at her. She'd paused in her steps, frozen, shocked, slightly taken aback, almost _hurt_, and inwardly he prayed that she could see his anger wasn't directed at her. _I wouldn't forgive myself if you got hurt because of what I'm about to do please just **stay here**_

He didn't wait for her to respond, throwing open the door and slamming it shut behind him.

No one followed after him.

He didn't care. It was better that way.

…

It was long after dark when Grimmjow had finished off the last demon in the vicinity. His lungs were burning, heaving for air. He was aware of several wounds on his being, and he didn't care. They weren't severe anyway.

He glanced around. He was in one of the more sketchy places of town. It'd be awesome if some punk human tried to mess with him. Wouldn't mind breaking a few noses while he was at it as well.

For a moment, the Espada's thoughts drifted to Juritsu. He wondered if she had listened and stayed. He wondered if she'd gone out looking for him after all. Would she have risked exposing her secret?

It didn't matter. As the adrenaline began to wear off, Grimmjow began to feel the beginning of soreness and exhaustion. Anger was slowly transitioning to grief.

He was used to, for the most part, being on his own. But in the back of his mind, he always knew there was a place and people to return to. Now, however...

It was as if everything had been taken away from him. All he really had left was Pantera.

"Are you quite done?"

Oh, right. He had _him_, too.

"Yea, sure. Until they come back," Grimmjow replied after rolling his eyes at the Cuarta Espada. Somehow, he wasn't surprised. Ulquiorra was, after all, infuriatingly strong. Something as trivial as possession by Lucifer wouldn't kill the pale Hollow.

"So? When'd you wake up?"

There was a brief pause, "Six minutes ago. I was told that you went out to throw a tantrum and decided to retrieve you myself," Ulquiorra frowned deeply, looking perturbed, "You're bleeding."

"Yea, no shit," Grimmjow glanced at his wounds briefly, "I've had worse."

"I'm merely surprised by the fact that such low-level demons were able to wound you at all, Grimmjow." They'd been in each other's presence for less than ten minutes and Ulquiorra was already reminding the Sexta why they'd been at odds for so long, "To think that you once believed yourself to be stronger than me."

"Says the Espada who nearly died from a mere possession," Grimmjow finally turned around to finally shoot his comrade a half-hearted glare, though he wasn't feeling near as irritated as he usually would when dealing with the Cuarta.

He saw the twitch in the corner of Ulquiorra's lips as he turned his head, reaching up a hand and rubbing his thumb against his lip. In normal human beings, Grimmjow would've taken that as an attempt to hold back laughter. This person was so far from Ulquiorra it was a bit disturbing.

After a moment, the pale man met Grimmjow's gaze again, "I honestly cannot believe you would hold that against me," he tilted his head slightly. Grimmjow didn't think he'd ever seen Ulquiorra's eyes quite _that_ green before. Maybe he'd finally gotten his hands on some Prozac.

But, as quickly as it had appeared, his expression turned serious again. The glow in his eyes didn't go away though. "Is it really so dreadful, Grimmjow? I distinctly remember you telling me how much you _didn't_ miss Hueco Mundo and Las Noches."

Grimmjow averted his gaze to the ground. For a moment, he wasn't sure how to put his feelings into words. Hell, he wasn't even sure if Ulquiorra would understand. "It's different... when it's gone forever."

"After Lucifer is defeated," Ulquiorra spoke calmly, rationally - as always. Grimmjow honestly couldn't tell if he was getting it or if he was completely oblivious, "The number of Hollow will gradually return to normal. It won't be empty forever."

Grimmjow wasn't sure why he looked up - perhaps it was what Ulquiorra had said, perhaps it was how he'd said it - but he found himself struck by the expression on the Fourth's face.

His gaze was downcast, aimed towards the ground between them. His green eyes, which had been practically glowing with life a moment ago, had dulled back to the darker, emerald green that Grimmjow was used to. He could see flickers of shame, of inner turmoil, trauma, hurt... the layers of emotion that he was suddenly able to read on Ulquiorra's face was a bit of a shock all by itself. The Cuarta never showed emotion. At least, not on this level.

_He begged them to spare him…_

It was then that Grimmjow had an epiphany. Ulquiorra must have seen what'd happened. Or at least, he watched enough of it to have to try begging in order to save his own life.

A strange combination of emotions began swirling about in the blue-haired Espada. The first was his anger, expectedly. That bastard Lucifer had destroyed Hueco Mundo single-handedly and without hesitation, after all. The second, which had come up out of nowhere, was more of an instinct, and urge to protect, to safeguard, and not just Juritsu. Ulquiorra was his kin. They were brothers, as much as he hated to admit it. And even if he wasn't overly fond of the pale Hollow, there was a bond there.

"You're right," Grimmjow remarked after a long pause, slightly desperate to reassure his comrade, giving the Cuarta a trademark grin, "That ain't gonna stop me from ripping off the King's head though."

Ulquiorra had never been the best at redirecting conversation, and it became completely obvious when he spoke again, "We should head back. I promised I wouldn't be long."

Grimmjow nodded after a moment, sheathing Pantera. "Yea, I need a shower anyway," he remarked nonchalantly.

"If your strength isn't enough to defeat the Devil, I'm sure your body odor is."

"Ha, ha, asshole. Let's go."

* * *

**A/N: Another chapter for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!  
**

**Also, if anyone wants to leave a review letting us know their opinion of the story, you're more than welcome to :3**

**- G**


	9. Chapter 9

******Disclaimer: Various concepts and characters have been retrieved from _Dragonball Z_ and _Bleach_ for this story; they belong to Akira Toriyama and Tite Kubo. Please note, however, that the plot, which is an original plot, is unrelated to the events that take place in DBZ and Bleach, meaning this is an AU fic. The OC's and plot belong to myself, and KRenee.**

* * *

**IX**

It'd taken some effort to convince Khrai to let him leave what they'd apparently established as HQ. Truth be told, he wasn't out looking for a fight, contrary to the last time he stormed out of Juritsu's apartment. Rather, he was heading back to his place to assess the damage from the demon attack, and see if he could salvage any of his things. Not that he had a whole lot, but what he did have was important.

Grimmjow now paused at the bottom of his steps, eyeing the door. Khrai had definitely kicked off the door, and yet there it was as if nothing had ever happened. What did that mean...?

He froze upon letting himself in to the apartment. All the signs of battle had been reversed. It was like a battle against the legions of Hell had never taken place in the living room. And, standing there in the middle of it all, acting all nonchalant and whatnot, was Ralph, who blinked and glanced over at him. The blonde looked genuinely surprised to see him.

Under normal circumstances, Grimmjow probably would've been relieved to see him; the events of the past few days couple with a lack of any response in his attempts to contact the roommate had led the Espada to being wondering if maybe something had happened to Ralph. But now, however, Grimmjow was furious. Because to him, it kind of looked like Ralph was doing damage control. And if that was the case, not only did he know about the attack, he ignored any calls for help and just let it happen.

"Hey!" Ralph had a cheerful grin on his face. Either he was ignoring the fact that the Espada was livid, or he was too oblivious to realize it, "You came back sooner than I expected. How's Juritsu?"

And the fact that the blonde knew that he'd been with Juritsu confirmed his suspicions.

"Yea, you _would_ know I was over there, wouldn't you?" Grimmjow growled lowly, eyes narrowing into an icy glare as Ralph's smile began to fade, "I bet you know a hell of a lot more than you're letting on too."

Ralph was trying to play the innocent act. "Grimmjow...?" He had a concerned glint in his Venetian blue eyes, "Are you okay?"

Gonna play that game, are we? Fine. He made a show of glancing around, indicating the pristine appearing of their abode. "Man, you sure did a good job erasing any sign of demonic activity here. We could've really used your magic powers back when the Legion was actually trashing the place."

His gaze finally fell on Ralph, who'd stiffened. "Tell me, how embarrassing was it for you when you realized that they broke through your barrier like it was an eggshell?"

"You don't know what you're talking about," Ralph answered, his voice strained.

"Is that so?" Grimmjow was losing patience, fast, and he made it known by stalking up to Ralph and towering over him. Ralph didn't back down, instead holding a steady gaze. That just pissed him off even further. "I know that you set up that barrier. I know that you can cast spells that have an effect on Lily's powers. I'm pretty sure you're also well aware that Lucifer was standing in our fucking kitchen too!"

"This has nothing to do with you, Grimmjow," Ralph's tone was somewhat commanding, authoritative, "We are well aware of the coming day, and we're making preparations for it."

"Preparations my ass!" He'd had it, with the stupid defiant glare and that condescending undertone. Grimmjow grabbed the lapels of Ralph's jacket and wrenched him close. "Since your heads are too far up your asses to figure it out, I'll enlighten you: I know who the Chosen One is, and if you don't get your collective acts together, you might as well just go the fuck home and let this world burn!"

He sensed the new reiatsu signature a second too late, and the next thing he knew, a hand roughly grabbed one of his wrists, wrenching it away from Ralph.

"That is enough, _Hollow_," A dark-skinned man with intense, amber-colored eyes was there, a warning in both his glare and his voice, "You'd do well to learn respect."

Another one of them, was it? Grimmjow didn't care. He met this newcomer's eyes with a sneer. "Sorry; I don't recall self-righteous assholes actually deserving respect."

Wrong thing to say; an instant later, the man had slammed him into a wall, his arm pressing just a little too hard on the Espada's throat. Grimmjow spluttered, nails digging into the man's forearm to try and pry him away. If only he was as ruthless as he used to be; he wouldn't have hesitated to blast a Gran Rey Cero into the fucker's face.

"We are not obligated to earn respect from the likes of you," the man growled furiously - clearly the man took to his temper really quickly - "You are required to give it to us, as we are members of the Seven Archangels of the Lord."

"Gideon," Ralph spoke up quietly, "That's enough."

Gideon, apparently, glowered over at the blonde before roughly letting Grimmjow go. The Sexta Espada doubled over, coughing violently and heaving in gulps in air. That was close; he'd actually begun to see spots before Ralph stepped in.

"We have been observing you and your group, Hollow," Gideon was sneering now, that son of a bitch... "Your protection of Son Juritsu is pointless."

At the mention of her name, Grimmjow bristled, his reiatsu surging in response to the sudden anger that welled within. "And just what the hell is that supposed to mean, huh?!" he snarled, voice slightly ragged, "You all have been completely useless with this mess since day one!"

"Her fusion with the Devil is inevitable, as it has been foretold," Gideon shot back, "Our purpose in this is to craft and hone the weapon that will destroy her. Only when this task has been done will we have won the war and brought utopia to this world."

A weapon? What the hell was he talking about? What kind of weapon would stand any chance against the King, let alone the King fused with probably the most powerful girl he'd ever met?

These Archangels were deluded. They couldn't possibly think that would work. He knew they were gonna be useless about this whole thing but... this was ridiculous. However, if that was the way things were going to be, then so be it. Grimmjow was never one to follow orders anyway. He was going to do this his way.

The Sexta Espada stood up to his full height, meeting Gideon's amber eyes with his own cyan ones. "Well since you're going to go ahead and waste everyone's time with your bullshit, you might as well just sit the hell down," he smirked, self-assured and cocky, just to piss the heaven-sent bastards off, "Watch as I stop this war for you, you useless fucks."

Gideon's glare was murderous. "Watch your tongue, boy."

Grimmjow's smirk only widened and he let his arrogance show as clear as the sunny day. "Sorry, would love to belittle you further," he turned and began to stroll casually to the door and opening it, pausing only long enough to look over his shoulder and take in their priceless expressions, "But if you'll excuse me, I've got a world to save."

He walked out that door and didn't look back.

...

_March, 2012_

Statistics was a ridiculously boring class. It didn't help that the professor was literally droning at this point; the majority of the class was fighting the urge to nod off. Z-scores and T-tests... what did that have anything to do with, well, anything? It wasn't even ten minutes into the lecture before Ulquiorra started tuning out the professor. He was a guest in this class today; neither Chris nor any of the other Horsemen were members of this lecture, so he didn't need to worry about them seeing him. At least, not at the moment.

It had been a couple of months since he was retrieved from the Pit. He liked to pretend he'd never been there in the first place. Grimmjow hadn't asked him any questions about it – probably one of the few moments of decency his older brother would ever accidentally experience.

Never let it be said that Grimmjow was older. The blue-haired Arrancar didn't know. Ulquiorra had no intention of ever telling him, though he did sometimes have the urge to address the blue-haired man as 'aniki' just to see the look on his face.

He was sitting on Grimmjow's right, Juritsu on Grimmjow's left. They were midway back from the front table-row. His green eyes slid away from their unfocused position near the professor's nose and gazed around the room. On the other side of the room from them was a black-haired boy. He bore a striking resemblance to Thanatos, though his impressively active hair kept anyone from making such a mistake. Two seats down from him was a pink-haired girl, whispering back and for with her blonde girl friend. Seated in the front of the room was a kid with orange hair, his head resting in his arms – he was obviously asleep, though the professor didn't seem to be overly concerned.

Ulquiorra heard a soft sound and moved his gaze over to his left, where Grimmjow had tilted his notebook towards Juritsu. Her brown eyes swept over the paper, a controlled smile gracing her features. Grimmjow glanced over at her, their eyes meeting and mutual grins spreading across their faces. Juritsu reached over and scribbled something down on his notebook. As he angled it back towards himself, Ulquiorra read what had been written, unable to contain his curiosity. After all, it wasn't every day he got to see Grimmjow being openly affectionate with anyone.

_Yea, didn't mean to be all bitchy the other day._

He hadn't realized how atrocious Grimmjow's penmanship was. The scrawl was nearly illegible.

_No big deal. PMS comes around once a month after all :P_

Sometimes, Ulquiorra had observed over the months since his brother's escape from Hueco Mundo, Grimmjow needlessly worried and over-thought things. Usually, he tried to cover up his fears and worries with humor and sarcasm, sometimes bordering on the kind of cynical that he had expressed distaste for in everyone else's personality. In this case, Grimmjow was worried that Juritsu would hold his alleged outburst against him. Obviously, she wasn't, but he worried anyway. Obviously, he was lonely and afraid that he'd lose his friendship with her, but he wasn't about to admit to such vulnerability. Cute.

_Nah I won't have PMS for another week :P_

The class ended with a homework assignment that Grimmjow was going to do as last minute as possible. The duo beside him packed up their things, the three of them standing in unison before making their way out to the hallway. First out, as usual.

The started down the hall together, Ulquiorra a half-step behind them on Grimmjow's right. He watched the way their steps fell into sync, the way Grimmjow's hand seemed to twitch every time Juritsu's hip bumped it slightly. Sexta probably wanted to wrap an arm around her waist, but wasn't sure whether it would be okay with her.

They were chatting about how fast they would have to eat to be able to get to their next class in time. Juritsu didn't have her next class with Grimmjow, but it started at the same time (though it was halfway across campus). The blue-haired man cracked a joke about not needing to worry, since Juritsu was an Olympic sprinter. The girl flushed in... embarrassment? She punched his arm lightly, retorting under her breath. Grimmjow's arm finally came up as he laughed, wrapping around her shoulders and hugging her briefly before falling away again. Ulquiorra didn't miss the fleeting disappointment in Juritsu's brown eyes, nor did he miss the flicker of uncertainty in Grimmjow's cyan ones.

They had taken a turn into "the Dining Hall," (there was only one) which Ulquiorra liked to think of as a juicy steak in a group of rabid hyenas. It was 10:36am - most students had a class within the next five minutes, so most students weren't stopping to eat. The place was still packed, reinforcing Ulquiorra's theory that this campus needed another dining hall.

"You hungry?" He looked up, surprised. Grimmjow didn't usually ask if he was hungry. And he was right to; Ulquiorra wasn't ever hungry. He was dead. Why would he be hungry?

His stomach clenched painfully, but not with nausea. He made a face, and Grimmjow snickered at him. Was this hunger? He'd been dead and without the need to pay attention to his diet for such a long time, he'd forgotten what hungry felt like. Then again, it was also possible that he'd developed stomach cancer.

"Urahara makes them as human as possible. You get hungry in these things."

Right. He was in a gigai. He'd almost forgotten.

"I don't like it." He grunted, trying to ignore the way his throat was clenching around the empty nausea in his gut. This was _awful_. This was probably the reason he'd died; suicide after deciding that being hungry was too painful to have to live with.

"The hunger sucks, but the food makes it totally worth it," Grimmjow had a smirk on his face as he handed the Fourth a tray, "Anything you want in particular?"

There was a long pause that occurred more in Ulquiorra's head than in reality. What did he want? Food? What kind of question was that? He had half a mind to tell Grimmjow to stop being an ass, but he held back. It was entirely possible that his blue-haired brother had never even considered the possibility of going hundreds of years in death without _ever_ consuming regular things like... whatever that stuff was.

Ulquiorra looked over at Grimmjow, completely lost. Judging by the responding surprise in those blue eyes, his complete cluelessness was probably written all over his face.

The Sixth hummed, glancing at the line-up of various food items. "Well... do you know what kind of food you like?" he asked after a long moment.

Ulquiorra frowned, looking among the endless, stupidly colorful assortments. None of it looked familiar. Nothing was triggering any memories, either. He wondered if this was stupid; what kind of existence didn't even know what kind of food they liked? Was it pretty dumb that he'd gone a good five hundred years without ever sticking anything in his mouth just to see if it had a flavor? Or was it Grimmjow who was strange?

"I don't remember," he muttered, wondering if Grimmjow had even heard that. Then, a little louder, he stated, "I don't like black tea." It was the one thing he'd tasted since his death, courtesy of Aizen Sousuke. He hated it.

"Well, that's a start..." Another pause, and then Grimmjow began grabbing several small portions of each and placing them on Ulquiorra's tray, "Sample until you find things you like. Best part about this place is that it's buffet; you can literally have as much as you want."

With the amount of decent and horrible smells clashing against his sense, Ulquiorra wasn't sure if he wanted _anything_. Grimmjow went his own way to find whatever he wanted - probably the standard meat and potato-esque meal that he seemed to thrive on. He knew there was an order in food flavor; sweet and salty, hot and cold. Then there were bitter things, like black tea. He didn't like bitter. One of the objects on his plate was a pastry – was that a cookie or a brownie? So many names for these things, he never really got a hang of them after he died. He knew they were sweet. He knew what chocolate looked like.

He picked up the round pastry, looking it over thoughtfully. Chocolate chip brownie? Chocolate chip cookie? The latter sounded right. He took a bite, chewed, swallowed. His jaw protested the amount of use. His tongue had a cardiac arrest, and he felt it hit rock bottom in his stomach. Apparently, eating for the first time was going to be horrible.

He liked cookies. A lot. Sweet things. Sweet things had a specific aroma to them. He could work with this. Cookies were also hard, not soft. He preferred the feeling of chewing over the swishing one did with things like pudding. Somehow, the desserts that Grimmjow had unwittingly thrown onto his tray were teaching him a lot. He discovered he liked fruit salad. A lot. His tongue was tickled by the amount of flavors he'd been pushing it to try.

_I think that's enough taste-testing for today_. He thought, taking a brief second to hunt down Grimmjow's reiatsu. It turned out to be easier to just look for him - that particular shade of blue was hard to miss, after all.

"Fruit salad?"

Ulquiorra nodded at his brother's question as he sat down, noting the curiosity in Juritsu's gaze. Grimmjow didn't tell her much about their interactions, it seemed. He wondered if that was defensive (there was a secret to be kept, after all) or if it wasn't the most comfortable topic (I hate him but he's my favorite dude), "I've come to like sweet things."

"Hey, not everyone has to eat like you," Juritsu playfully spoke up, sticking her tongue out, glancing over at Ulquiorra with a friendly smile, indicating her own bowl of the healthy treat, "Fruit salad is a wise choice."

He nodded in agreement past his working jaw. Supposedly, one was supposed to chew 42 times before swallowing, but he was finding that he could get by with 23. Why did people bother to count things like that, anyway? Humans had a lot of variety; the width and strength of the throat muscles and the size of the mouth and teeth would give the impression that some people had to chew more than others, and vice versa.

The table was a small one. Juritsu had one side, Grimmjow had the side to her right, and Ulquiorra was across from her. They could probably fit a fourth person on the fourth side of the small square, but Grimmjow would have to put his basket of fries in his lap.

From this angle, he could really see the way they interacting. It was interesting to watch. He had read a lot of books in his time as a dead person (sometimes being so immature as to rearrange sections of a library after hours), and he had seen many depictions of affection and anxiety written as separate entities. Here, he was observing the two mutual exclusive mental processes working in some kind of rough-play harmony.

Juritsu wasn't sure whether it was okay for her hand to be less than two inches away from Grimmjow's, but she definitely noticed the way her conversational partner kept adjusting his hand closer to hers. Grimmjow wanted to slide his hand closer to Juritsu's, maybe press their pinky fingers together, but he wasn't sure if she was okay with that because she kept moving her hand away. They were so obviously interested in each other - however deeply was debatable. Ulquiorra wondered why they were having such a difficult time establishing where they were exactly in their affectionate relationship. It was like a very intimate professional environment laced with should-I's and can-I's.

He had half a mind to reach across the table, grab their hands, and forcibly put them together. He wouldn't, of course, but it was still kind of tempting. He hadn't seen such a strange intimacy since the one that had blossomed randomly between Neliel and Nnoitra (the one that had resulted in too many casualties and not enough make-up sex).

**_Neliel was the only one he'd tried to save_**.

_No._

The nausea came suddenly, and he wondered if he was going to regret eating every time Grimmjow persuaded him to. Persuade, because he was going to have to force the issue if he wanted Ulquiorra to swallow anything after this. He pressed his fork into a pale grape, watching excess amounts of juice ooze out of the little holes the pressure made.

**_He could hear her screams from within the cave, where he'd told them she was hiding. He'd tried so hard, and for so long, to keep that one last companion safe._**

_I did what I had to..._

**Liar. You did what you wanted to**.

"Ulquiorra?" He wondered if that wince was as violent as it'd felt. He looked up, finding the duo staring at him with mild concern in their eyes. He wondered if his face was pale (if that was even possible, considering his usual complexion). He wondered if maybe they could see his gigai's heart thumping painfully hard in his chest, or if his carotid was throbbing stronger than it should've been.

"What's up?" Grimmjow asked slowly, and by taking in the Sexta's expression, Ulquiorra could see genuine worry. A strange thing, being on the receiving end of that kind of gaze from _Grimmjow_, of all people. "You look sick."

He wondered if he should reply truthfully, or if he should do the standard "I'm fine" that had replaced any forms of honesty the human race once had. He wasn't even sure he wanted to open his mouth at this point.

It came on abruptly, the feeling of being small, weak, a slight but building feeling of anxiety, of endless pressure, horrible expectations suddenly pushing down on him, crushing his chest and refusing to let up.

But he could handle it. This happened every now and then, ever since… He diverted his attention back to the bowl in front of him, stilled himself, concentrated on timing his breathing; ten seconds in, ten seconds out. He pushed a pineapple around the edges of his bowl, counting all 360 degrees as he went.

"It's nothing," he finally answered as the pressure in his chest eased up. He looked up and forced his best **_I'm okay_** look. Neither of them was convinced, but they didn't ask any more questions. He didn't finish his fruit salad. His stomach didn't seem to mind.

Fourteen minutes later, Grimmjow had turned down a separate path from Juritsu, heading for a different class. Ulquiorra somehow found himself focusing unnaturally hard on keeping his footsteps in rhythm with his brother's. It was actually a bit hard to do that and still keep up with him. Grimmjow's stride was approximately-

"It takes some getting used to," the blue-haired Arrancar suddenly spoke up, completely wrecking his companion's train of thought. When Ulquiorra gave him a quizzical glance, he clarified. "The gigai, I mean."

_I actually think I preferred knowing how to be dead_.

"Did it take long for you to get used to it? You seem pretty well adjusted," he remarked. "If not like a whole different person."

Grimmjow snorted. "You're one to talk, with your magically appearing sense of humor."

Ulquiorra returned his attention to the paved path in front of him, "I've always had a sense of humor, Grimmjow. Just not one as _refined_ as yours."

"If you say so," Grimmjow shot back easily, glancing around at the passerby. "Honestly the hardest thing I had to get used to was having emotions again."

That one was a little hard to believe.

"I didn't realize you had problems with emotion, Grimmjow," the green-eyed man reply, furrowing his brow at the sidewalk, "I don't ever recall you finding difficulty being angry."

The Sexta Espada rolled his eyes. "No, _besides_ anger, you retard. I used to be angry and I used to not give a fuck. Now, I actually have... a conscience."

A conscience, huh? The dictionary definition of a conscience was 'an inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one's behavior.' He fell silent for a long moment, thinking about the prospect of a conscience.

"I wish I didn't," turned out to be the only thing he was able to reach a concrete decision on. Grimmjow glanced at him questioningly, and he could see a glimmer of uncertainly in his blue eyes. He was taken aback, obviously, and he wasn't sure what to do. This was Grimmjow and this was Ulquiorra, after all. Conversations like this just never happened.

This wasn't something he wanted to dig up and share; recovering from the trauma of watching Lucifer tear into everyone, **_everyone_** had been enough the first time. He would not talk about this.

"For a long time, I forgot you were still alive. I thought I was the only one left. It was... very relieving to see you again... it lessened the guilt a little." He huffed out a breath, the rest of his words leaving him. He hoped Grimmjow wouldn't ask any more questions. He would not tell his brother about what had actually happened in Hueco Mundo. It would probably be better if he didn't know the exact details. Whether it be horror or grief, Grimmjow still had a tendency to deal with things via violence and anger.

And he didn't want to be punched. Not today. His head already hurt.

Grimmjow's eyes shone an understanding, even sympathy, as his gaze averted to the sidewalk as they approached a building (likely where his class was). "Sometimes, it's about survival," he spoke slowly, almost hesitantly, like he wasn't sure if this was what Ulquiorra wanted to hear, per say, "That doesn't make it any easier, but when it comes down to it, it's either you or them..."

His brother was right to be hesitant, since this was definitely not what he wanted to hear. His fists clenched tightly, stomach twisting painfully. It hadn't been that simple; he'd spent days protecting Neliel. Halibel had given her life to give them time to escape the immediate battlefield, maybe even survive in the end. He'd done everything he could to protect Neliel, keeping her calm and quiet, tending to her when she got hurt...

But when he was scouting ahead, they caught up to him. Lucifer grabbing him, slamming him down, rotten breath hot against his face, pearly white teeth _they were so sharp but he knew that they wouldn't kill him right away no the King would want to feel him writhe, grinning and laughing at his struggles_. He hadn't even been entirely aware of himself until his throat had started working, Latin tumbling out of his mouth, begging helplessly _I'll do anything you want please don't kill me I'll do anything **anything**_.

He'd led them back to the cavern where Neliel was hiding, waiting for him. They made him watch.

_You don't understand_, "It wasn't..." _I wasn't just defending myself. I gave her up to them. She might've lived if I'd been willing to die_.

He stopped in his tracks, his head bowed against the wonderful warmth of the sun, the clear blue sky. He wished it would rain.

"I get it," Grimmjow quietly replied, "The difference between you and me, is that you actually cared about what you were doing."

The man might as well have just cero'd Ulquiorra in the chest. He couldn't do this. Not now. Probably not ever. He didn't want to have this conversation, and he wasn't entirely sure that Grimmjow did either. This wasn't like them. The comfort of Grimmjow still being an asshole towards him was gone, replaced by genuine caring, and he didn't want it.

He froze up, couldn't find words to match what he was trying to lie about, "Chris... coming this way, I... think..." he grunted, mumbling incoherently about going off to find Kaisuki. he was sure Grimmjow didn't believe that Chris was coming this way, but he did _not_ care. He turned away, walking swiftly across the quad.

He didn't know what he'd been expecting; to be yelled at or forgiven. Being yelled at, beaten upon, kicked to the curb... that would've been better. It would've made more _sense_. After what he'd done, there was no logical reason for Grimmjow to be so understanding and caring and sympathetic... Grimmjow should've told him he was a cold-hearted bastard, because that was just what Grimmjow did. The concept of that familiar hatred had been more comforting than anything he'd encountered since that massacre in Hueco Mundo. And, for some reason, he had yet to receive it.

Kaisuki - well, Khrai, actually - was walking out of the largest building on campus - the physical sciences building. She spotted him walking towards her and paused in her steps, allowing him to catch up.

"Hey," she greeted easily, "How's the bod?"

It took longer than it should've, but he managed to find the words after a moment of jumbling around nouns and verbs in his head, "It's different, but I'm adjusting."

Khrai nodded, humming in agreement, "Grimmjow-nen's drivin' you crazy?"

Was that a trick question? "You... might say that."

"You recovered a lot better n' a lot faster than I thought you would," she suddenly said after a long pause, "I was expecting to have to coddle an' spoon feed you for at least a week after I gotcha back from the Pit, but you surprised me. I gotta say, for a dude, you're one tough cookie."

"Thank you... I think."

Kaisuki's classes were more interesting than Grimmjow's. She was a psychology major, and Khrai was less interested in making idle conversation with him. She didn't seem to mind his silence. She didn't ask why he'd decided to join her instead of sticking with Grimmjow, she didn't question his general somberness. There was significantly less pressure to be a regular person around Khrai, which might've been because she cared the least out of anyone he'd ever met.

Two hours of abnormal psychology later, they were standing in front of a soda machine down the hall from the class, which had just ended. Ulquiorra stared at the Sierra Mist he held as Khrai got a Pepsi.

"Do you wanna try both and see which you prefer?"

His brow furrowed at that question. Did she not know which one she liked? "Well, which would do you not prefer?"

"I like 'em both equally," _oh, duh_, "Don't matter to me."

He tasted them both. The Pepsi was preferable to him, and Khrai was more than willing to accommodate. They walked back down the hallway in silence, reaching the exit door. If he remembered correctly, this was Kaisuki's last scheduled class of the day, so they would be heading home. Grimmjow would've left campus with Juritsu already (which was the main reason Ulquiorra had joined Khrai and not Juritsu). The walk off campus was entirely a downhill trek, so he didn't expect it to take long.

"Kaisuki," he started, immediately recognizing the voice calling from behind them.

Khrai slowed to a stop, "Stay with me, Ulquiorra-nen," she muttered before turning around to face the approaching man. Thad stopped two feet away, his eyes lingering on Ulquiorra for a long, intense moment. Abruptly, he felt a pair of strong hands encircle his elbow and pull him behind his companion.

The woman's eyes flashed blue and stayed that way, fierce and unforgiving, "Kaisuki-nan's not in today."

Thad seemed slightly put off by that, perhaps even a little apprehensive. Khrai continued, "I can take a message for you, though."

"I seek an audience with Saeka."

"No."

The response was so firm and calm, it surprised both Thad and Ulquiorra. _No_? Without even witty remark or a mean insult at the end? Just _no_?

"It is of-..."

"I don't care, _Thanatos-nen_." She snarled, her voice low and threatening, "You lost privilege wit' me when you attacked my hostess."

Ulquiorra's eyes flicked back and forth between Thad and Khrai, watching the way Death's face slowly started to lose color. Thad clenched his fists, jaw tightening and eyes glazing over. Blood oozed around the corner of his lips as he suddenly collapsed to his knees, coughing up crimson liquid into the grass. Nearby, Ulquiorra heard someone yelling to call 9-1-1, he saw Judas hiding behind a building nearby, hazel eyes wide and disbelieving, perhaps betraying a hint of fear. Thad's wheezing was getting louder and more hoarse, the sound of sirens growing in the distance.

Khrai squatted down, sitting on her haunches, "Thad-nen," the man in question managed to raise his head, bloodied teeth bared with fury as his eyes flicked back and forth between Ulquiorra and Khrai, "Tell your boss that Saeka-nan wants him to go fuck himself."

She straightened up, grabbing Ulquiorra's elbow and dragging him away, eventually pulling him into a sprint. They ran off campus and then three more blocks before slowing down. Khrai was grinning when she turned to Ulquiorra, but the expression faded. He wondered what kind of expression he'd been wearing.

"Whassup?"

"They know I'm..." he trailed off and lowered his head, suddenly unsure of whether his worries were valid or not.

"Don't worry," He didn't raise his gaze at her reassurance. She reached over and roughly grabbed his shoulder, "Hey, I mean it. Look at me, Ulquiorra-nen."

Ulquiorra obediently raised his eyes, finding the most unwavering confidence he'd ever seen. She smiled at him, a promising look, "You don't need to worry. We're lookin' out for each other. All of us."

Somehow, that reassured him. A lot. Mainly because it was rational; it made sense to be comforted by those words. Khrai wasn't promising they wouldn't get hurt, or that she'd keep him safe from all harm. They were all looking out for one another, and that was completely true. He had three strong spirits, a Yurei, the Chosen One, and Grimmjow looking out for him. Just like Grimmjow had three strong spirits, a Yurei, the Chosen One, and Ulquiorra looking out for him, and so on.

It wasn't as big a burden when there were others helping him.

_"I'll keep you safe, Neliel. I promise."_

This time, it wasn't a promise. But this time, he felt, it would work out alright in the end

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**A/N: Another chapter for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!  
**

**- G**


	10. Chapter 10

******Disclaimer: Various concepts and characters have been retrieved from _Dragonball Z_ and _Bleach_ for this story; they belong to Akira Toriyama and Tite Kubo. Please note, however, that the plot, which is an original plot, is unrelated to the events that take place in DBZ and Bleach, meaning this is an AU fic. The OC's and plot belong to myself, and KRenee.**

* * *

**X**

_May, 2012_

She was getting in way too deep. And honestly, Juritsu didn't know what to do.

It wasn't like she intended to develop a crush on her blue-haired friend. Hell, she had no idea how or when it even happened; the revelation literally ambushed her one afternoon walking back from classes with Grimmjow. And it had eventually grown clear to her that the feelings were mutual. Only instead of elation, Juritsu's first reaction had been to panic. Eventually, however, she succumbed to resignation. It would just end up a repeat of every other guy that had come on to her. So she would spare Grimmjow the freak-out, and she would spare herself the rejection, and she would try to subtly encourage Grimmjow to back off.

That's what she kept telling herself, at least. So far, it hadn't penetrated.

She couldn't tell if Grimmjow was being stubborn or if she wasn't trying hard enough. Why was Grimmjow so particularly difficult to push away? Yes, there was something different about him, something she had yet to place a finger on. He had a strange ki signature, nothing she'd ever sensed before. It felt human and inhuman at the same time. Maybe it was this little piece of knowledge that kept her from giving up. After all, he was different, just like she was. Maybe he _would_ accept her uniqueness...

_No... you **always** think that about guys. 'Oh, he's different.' And you're always wrong. Don't risk it_.

But maybe she wasn't wrong this time - there hadn't been a time where she'd felt so strongly for a guy before that she could remember. But she was too afraid to find out.

"Earth to Juritsu."

She jumped, startled, and frantically fought her instinctual response to drive her elbow behind her into Grimmjow's ribs as he snuck up on her. Really, if only he knew how close he was to dying, he'd think twice about scaring the bejeezus out of her!

"Thanks for the near heart attack," she managed to grumble, taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart.

"Your fault for not paying attention," Grimmjow paused briefly, falling into thought, "Actually, that's not like you. Something up?"

How the hell did he know her so well after not even knowing her for an entire year? That pleasant fluttering sensation she'd grown addicted to abruptly returned, and her heart wrenched. Why did she have to like him so much?_!_

"I'm just tired, I think. I hate midterms," she decided to give him a white lie. After all, it wasn't entirely untrue that she was burnt out, "I have one more test before I can go into break mode."

Grimmjow snickered at that. "I just need to turn in a paper."

"Yea, yea, brag about it," her tone turned playful, and she bumped shoulders with him good-naturedly. He chuckled, bringing up an arm to wrap around her shoulders in a friendly hug. In those few seconds, Juritsu reveled in the feeling of his contact. And, an impulse overwhelmed her; _I don't want him to let go._

So, just as she felt his grip loosen, she leaned into him further. His hand paused; she could feel his surprise at her gesture. But he squeezed her shoulder, pulling her more snug against him. This time, however, the hug felt different, deeper than friendship, a new, intimate kind of affection. Her heart raced in anxiousness, but she didn't care. If they could stay like that forever, she wouldn't mind.

When he finally dropped his arm, she could've cried. It was unfair. Gohan had found the only human in the world who was as weird as they were, and it had all happened so easily for him. Why did it have to be so hard for her?

"Hey... are you sure you're okay?" Grimmjow's voice held some concern, and she bit back her frustrations and met his gaze. Inwardly, she prayed that he couldn't see right through her.

She gave him a smile; it felt wrong on her face and she was positive he could tell. "I'm fine, don't worry," her voice only wavered for an instant. Something, some kind of emotion passed through her friend's eyes, too fast to tell what. But she quickly looked away, glancing towards the building in which her next class was going to start. She had to pull herself together before she burst into tears right there.

"Right, I've got a test to take," it was too obvious, her abrupt tangent, but she didn't really care. And she almost felt bad for leaving Grimmjow confused and worried, but academics would provide a much-needed distraction from him; he was on her mind almost constantly at this point, and she was helpless to stop it on her own. "I'll find you guys at the dining hall!"

She made it a few paces before Grimmjow's voice caused her to automatically pause in her steps and look over her shoulder at him.

This time, she could see clearly the concern and... was that yearning? _Don't look at me like that Grimmjow you don't know what you're doing to me I can't - _"If something's really bugging you and you need to talk, you know you can talk to me, right?"

Her eyes suddenly stung mercilessly, and Grimmjow looked taken aback. _Shit no no no I gotta get out of here_.

She smiled again, wondering if everything she was hiding had just been given away due to the fact that she was more or less wearing her heart on her sleeve. "I will..." she took a quiet, steadying breath before her emotions could overwhelm her right then and there. "Thanks, Grimmjow."

She didn't wait to see what crossed his expression, instead turning and heading towards the building with a "I'll see you later!" as her smile began to sour and her vision began to blur.

...

Forty minutes later, Juritsu was trudging out of the building. That test was exhausting, and she was positive she'd done horribly. But she didn't really care.

Glancing around, she saw no shock of bright blue amongst the students hanging out on the quad. While inwardly she ached, wishing he was there, she felt it was probably better that she put some space between them, before she really _did_ freak out. Try and sift through the emotions storming about and work on getting over Grimmjow.

Someone walked up beside her, and she glanced over to find Ulquiorra. He looked awful, though that was getting to be relatively normal for the pale man. He didn't say anything right away, looking like he was lost in more distressing thoughts. She could see the tension in his jaw, in his shoulders, in his stride.

"Hey Ulquiorra... hey, are you okay?" She leaned forward a little, hoping to appear in his peripheral vision and catch his attention.

"He keeps asking me questions about Hueco Mundo," Ulquiorra muttered in reply, his tone sour, "I keep telling him, in various ways, to leave me alone. He doesn't want to know, anyway. He just… He's just an idiot, really. At least that hasn't changed."

Juritsu's brows furrowed. She recalled Saeka mentioning the place, but aside from that, she hadn't ever heard of Hueco Mundo before. She'd ask Saeka about it later. "He's changed...?"

"He didn't used to be like this," the pale man concurred almost nostalgically. "As odd as it may sound, I liked him better when he was an abusive rage-filled bastard with an exaggerated sense of self-worth."

It didn't sound like Grimmjow at all. As a matter of fact, the description reminded her of someone else, and she snorted in amusement. "Sounds like someone I know," she remarked with a small, lopsided grin on her face, pausing for a moment before continuing "So Grimmjow used to be kind of a jerk, huh?"

"'Kind of' is an understatement. He was the worst."

It was hard for her to picture him being the worst, especially having experienced the worst of the worst personally. She couldn't imagine Grimmjow being worse than Cell or Frieza, but Vegeta once again came to mind, and she briefly thought about the way he'd turned around as the years went by.

"So... what changed him?" she finally asked, trying to think of what could've caused this apparent change. Vegeta had Bulma... but she couldn't think of anyone in Grimmjow's life that could've played the same role. Especially not with him seemingly pursuing her now.

"I don't know," Ulquiorra answered truthfully, a frown replacing his previously uninterested expression, "I hadn't seen him in a few years, and last I knew he was still a bastard. Now he's… considerate, and apparently found some room to care about _me_ of all people. Maybe he just got back into the grove of behaving like a normal human being."

It was only slightly unsettling when Ulquiorra said "normal human being." As opposed to what, exactly? Grimmjow presented to her like a human. He carried around with him a katana, which meant that he had some swordsmanship skills at least. But aside from that, he seemed like any other human she'd interacted with.

"I... take it you guys didn't get along?"

"He was convinced he was stronger than me, and would try to prove it by endlessly challenging me to fight him," was the oddly calm admittance, "He had a bit of a complex about people looking down on him. That's why we fought all the time; he seemed to crave validation, and I was convinced his was a worthless existence."

It was intriguing to imagine Grimmjow as insecure. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense, the way he was always desperate for her forgiveness following a spat, how he didn't seem to have friends beyond their small group...

But if Ulquiorra and Grimmjow hated each other, why did they seem to be acting civil, if not friendly, now?

"So... is it bad that things have changed?"

She noticed the way he seemed to falter in his steps beside her, looking over at her as if he thought she had the answer to her own question. He looked away again, a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth, his eyes betraying his uncertainty. One would think that Grimmjow evidently going from a jerk to a gentleman was a good thing, but it seemed like that wasn't the case with Ulquiorra.

"A lot has changed, not just Grimmjow. I was looking forward to something familiar, even if it was... well, _Grimmjow._" Ulquiorra reached up to brush his hair out of his face, "The first time we met again after he left was when you were showing him around campus that time." Showing him around campus? Was that... was that the episode in the bathroom, when she'd felt that spike of energy? Was that _Grimmjow_? "I was sure he would try to kill me, but he didn't, and that was strange and I almost got worried. Then I saw how he was adapting to his life. I'm not sure whether I've been jealous of him or glad that he got out before..." he trailed off, turning his glance off in a different direction.

It seemed that instead of answers, Juritsu was finding herself with more questions. "... Got out of what...?"

"The..." he paused for a moment, considering, "The place where we lived wasn't... stable in any sense. It was always in some kind of disarray, and there were intermittent, power-hungry war mongers who would take up the challenge of ruling us. Grimmjow hated it; he has always wanted freedom, and that place has always been a cage."

Just where was Ulquiorra talking about? There was no such place on the planet that fit his description. "Where..." She hesitated slightly. Was she being too nosy? Meddling? "Where is this place? That you come from, I mean."

There was a long silence, and she briefly wondered if she had officially asked too many questions. Ulquiorra sighed, his shoulders hunching forward in an almost defensive stance as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"I'm from Hueco Mundo," he said passively. She couldn't help but notice the slight emphasis at the beginning of his statement; almost as if to say that he'd been mistaken earlier. But why say all that if he meant something else?

"... Oh..." she was unsure of what to say, suddenly feeling like she was walking on thin ice. What _could _be said? At least, without stepping on anyone's toes?

"If you don't mind me asking... where's Hueco Mundo? I mean... I've been all around the world, and I've never heard of it."

He glanced over at her again, but didn't make eye contact. "Well, Hueco Mundo is one of the domains of Purgatory, which is a level of Hell."

...

The last time Ulquiorra had been in a library, he'd been rearranging the shelves and reorganizing the order of the books to irritate the librarians. He didn't remember why he'd been stuck in that library in the first place, but he hadn't minded it. He used to breathe down people's necks while they were reading, or hide books that he knew patrons wanted to check out. For a while, he'd been okay with that life.

Ulquiorra flipped the page of the existentialist, spiritual-guidance book he'd randomly picked up. _Souls may become agitated or angry the longer they spend on this plain, especially if their body has not been honored properly. The spirits of the murdered are the most important to care for, as they feel hatred and are discontent with their situation. Sometimes, even a proper burial and blessing will not soothe them._

Had he been murdered? That sounded kind of familiar. He had vague, blurry memories of standing over a semi-familiar corpse, green eyes dulled, clothes stripped away from his body and buried under cement in a basement...

He shuddered, closing his eyes and pushing it back. Thinking about it brought a rise of anger and reminded his body of the terrible pain of bleeding to death, the burning of the knife embedded in his stomach, the suffocating, drowning in his own blood...

_Lucifer's teeth dug into him- his eyes rolling back into his head- a chuckle and he saw the brunette- "We can use..."- pain, all over, endless, torturous pain- **I'll do whatever you say.**_

Ulquiorra jolted violently when someone grabbed his shoulder from behind, and he finally registered his brother talking to him. His heart was racing, and he pressed a hand to his chest, taking a deep breath. What had that been? A memory? But... that never happened. The flashbacks, or whatever those had been, he didn't find any of them familiar, even though they were more vivid than the present.

Ulquiorra looked up at Grimmjow, blinking spots out of his vision and taking in the equally irked look on the blue-haired man's face. Evidently, he was in some kind of trouble.

"Can I help you?" He asked dryly.

"We need to talk," the Sixth growled lowly, "Outside."

_That_ didn't sound good. He silently stood up, snapping his book shut with one hand and placing it on a random shelf. He followed Grimmjow outside, around to the back of the library, where fewer people would be around. Well, he _had_ said that he missed the old Grimmjow.

Grimmjow looked beyond irate; hands constantly running through his already disheveled hair, jaw tight and working furiously, shoulders tense and squared. Once he seemed to decide they were out of earshot, he quickly rounded on Ulquiorra, blue eyes flashing.

"So, I'm friends with someone from _Hell_, according to Juritsu?" his voice was strained as he clearly worked to remain somewhat calm, "What. The. _Fuck._"

"I apologize for not thinking to _lie_ to her," he replied a little more heatedly than he intended, "I didn't think that the girl rooming with Lucifer-sama's daughter would have an issue with a couple of comparably mediocre Arrancar."

Grimmjow stepped closer, looming threateningly over the pale Espada. His fists clenched and unclenched them. "In case you hadn't noticed, I've been trying to be incognito here! You think I _want_ her knowing about me? About the things we've done?_!_"

Ulquiorra took a step back, wanting to keep at least a little space between them, "She's bound to find out eventually, Grimmjow," he replied coolly, "She already knew you were different, long before she met me. She can sense it; she's not human. But then, you already knew that."

Grimmjow cringed slightly at the last statement, before he shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh. "You just don't get it, do you?" He began pacing back and forth in agitation. "No fucking shit she's not human. No fucking shit she knows something! But it's not like she knows I was a murderous asshole either! I didn't want her finding out about it from someone else - I was planning on telling her when the time was right! Now for all I know, she thinks I'm some demonic freak just as bad as all the others trying to kill her!"

"You haven't changed _nearly_ as much as I thought," Ulquiorra snapped, his patience running thin, "You're still just a childish, insecure _kitten_. You aren't the only bastard with a complex, and you aren't the only freak in her life. Perhaps you should stop acting like a _brat_ and get back to your little conquest rather than pestering me."

The Sixth moved so fast it'd caught him off guard, and the next thing he knew, Grimmjow had him by the lapels of his shirt and was slamming him into the wall.

"You don't fucking know me, _Schiffer_," Grimmjow snarled furiously, tightening his grip on Ulquiorra's shirt, "You're just as pretentious and stuck-up as ever. That high horse attitude of yours pisses me off. You lookin' for a fight, Cuarta? Because I would be more than happy to smear your ass all over this fucking pavement, right here, right now!"

Even with his entire body tense and his heart beating a furious rhythm against his throat, he found the room in his muddled head to reply just as coldly as he used to, "Would you? I thought you were trying to be _incognito,_ Sexta," he said lowly, "Or are you still the same abusive, rage-filled bastard with an exaggerated sense of self worth that I remember?"

He should've expected Grimmjow to lose his cool - it was typical of him. Yet he was stunned when the blue-haired Arrancar's fist connected solidly with his jaw. His head swung to the side, bouncing off the brick wall and dazing him entirely. He slid down the wall, hitting the ground hard. His head was spinning, his jaw burning. He didn't even try to get back up; his eyes kept crossing and he was seeing spots in his vision.

Ulquiorra squeezed his eyes shut, shuddering as a strange sense of familiarity wracked his bones. He couldn't seem to catch his breath; it felt like a rope was wrapped around his throat, tight and constricting. There were no flashes of memories that came to him, though; just that sense of déjà-vu that he couldn't place. He didn't move; he didn't dare. He had done it wrong, he had screwed up, he hadn't been able to carry out his orders, and now he was being punished for it. Trained like a dog held captive by abusive teenagers. He choked on his own throat, chest heaving. He felt like he might throw up, assuming his heart didn't explode first.

"O... oi..." Grimmjow's voice, sounding nothing like the rage-filled snarling from earlier, had taken on a shocked and incredulous tone, "Hey... I didn't hit you that hard..."

He couldn't stop the groan-like sound that he uttered, his hand shakily reaching up to cup the side of his face. As the initial adrenaline began to wear off, the pain in his jaw and head skyrocketed. It felt like his head had been run over by a steam roller, the entire left side of his face was on fire, which only made his headache worse. He couldn't even lift his head to glare at the man standing over him.

_"Oh, come on, I didn't hit you **that** hard."_

His chest tightened, and he gasped, which only made the pain in jaw flare up worse, inciting a soft, pained noise.

"What the _hell_?" There was some rustling above him, and suddenly the glare of the sun was blocked from view. Likely, Sexta was crouched down in front of him, hands hovering over him rather uselessly as the man fretted over what exactly to do, "Shit did I _break_ your _jaw_?_!_ What the fuck Ulquiorra?_!_"

He shrank back involuntarily, shaking all over. It _hurt_. He'd forgotten how much broken bones hurt. It'd been a long time since Chris had taken a mallet to his leg or twisted his wrist until the bones cracked. He felt the heat that radiated off Grimmjow near the spot where he'd hit him, and he flinched away instinctively. His brother was probably just trying to get him to move his hand so he could see what the damage looked like, but his unreasonable impulses refused to accept that logic.

"Wha... Ulquiorra, you're supposed to be stronger than this..." Grimmjow's voice was subdued. A long moment, and then the Sixth muttered a steady stream of curses. Some more rustling, and then silence, before "Hey... um, yea... are you free? I... need some help. It's Ulquiorra..."

Ulquiorra managed to raise his head, opening his eyes and blinking away the light. The pain in his head felt like it was ricocheting all throughout his body. He took in a shaky breath through his nose, and tested his jaw. The pain flared up even worse, and his eyes watered. Pain didn't usually hurt this much.

Then again, with more than half of his power stripped from him, it was no surprise that his pain tolerance and Hierro were just about gone. He couldn't slow down his breathing, and he was starting to feel light-headed. He felt so incredibly weak and helpless and he _hated_ it. He should've been able to take that blow without even turning his head. He should've been able to deflect it, or at least return the attack. He had been in denial about how much of his power had been taken from him by Chris, but now it was more than obvious. He couldn't even hold his own against _Grimmjow._

He needed Murciélago.

"H-hey..." Grimmjow was crouched in front of him again, this time keeping a distance between the two of them. He could see the disbelief clear as day. Obviously the blue-haired Espada was just as taken aback as he felt. "I called Juritsu... I ... I figured she'd know what to do..."

Slowly, as he didn't want to agitate his jaw again, he nodded. He knew he looked completely pathetic, and he hated that Grimmjow had to see him like this. He shouldn't have provoked him. He should've just let him be angry and quietly taken the verbal abuse. He shouldn't have replied at all. Grimmjow was going to ask him questions as soon as he could talk again, and Ulquiorra wanted nothing to do with it. But...

_"She's bound to find out eventually."_

He could've laughed at the circumstances. He was, quite literally, eating his own words.

...

Among all other emotions, Grimmjow felt panic.

It was bad enough that he had somehow, against all odds, seriously injured Ulquiorra. And sure, in the back of his head, he'd been wishing to do damage, but never in his dreams did he think it'd actually **happen**. Ulquiorra was the _Fourth_. No matter how much Grimmjow gloated and mocked him, Ulquiorra was stronger, he was faster, and he could obliterate him with next to no effort. And yet, he just broke the same man's jaw. That alone had rang alarms in his head. It took a _lot_ more than a mere sucker punch to do _any_ kind of damage to Cuarta. What the hell did they _do_ to him?_!_

But even more so than that was...

"Hey!" Juritsu's voice rang out as she rounded the corner, and he visibly flinched at the sound of her voice. She'd been avoiding him since that morning before her test, and it wasn't until a couple of days later that she casually brought it up to him. She was aware of his above average strength and Pantera, which he kept with him outside of school. But she didn't know he had acquaintances with Hell, and she sure as hell was clueless to the fact that he was from Hell himself. He didn't know whether she herself was good or evil, but he could venture so far as to guess that she was one of the good guys. How would she react to the truth? Especially since he'd been hiding it for so long? And not to mention since he _did_ break Ulquiorra's jaw...

Ulquiorra looked up in the direction of her voice, watching her as she approached swiftly. He didn't miss the way the Fourth's breath hitched in the direction of hyperventilating, nor did the recoil from Juritsu's incoming person escape his attention. It was as if they were _both_ in serious trouble.

"Hey, I came as soon as I could..." Juritsu was even slightly breathless. Grimmjow couldn't even imagine how fast she was actually traveling, and he felt about 1000 times worse knowing this was all his fault.

The brunette glanced over at Ulquiorra, noticing his physical condition, and crouched down in front of him. "Hey... can I see?" Her voice was gentle, motherly, and it completely caught Grimmjow off-guard. It was a tone he'd never heard from her, that was for sure. Despite her coaxing, Ulquiorra still seemed to hesitate for a moment before slowly lowering his hand and lifting his head up. It looked a _lot_ worse now that it'd been given time to swell.

Juritsu glanced into Ulquiorra's eyes directly, holding a steady gaze as she slowly and carefully lifted her hand. It took a long moment, but she was able to lightly touch his temple.

"I'm just going to check the damage," her voice was calm and reassuring, and Grimmjow winced all the same. He would've done anything for a deep, deep hole to crawl into for the rest of all eternity. Ulquiorra slowly nodded his head in understanding, allowing her to palpate his face.

Working her way down along the side of his face, she watched his facial expression, gauging each reaction as they came across his features. It wasn't until she starting palpating along the jaw line that Ulquiorra started violently flinching.

"Your jaw..." she seemed to think aloud, "I think it might be broken."

She glanced up at Grimmjow, who fought every instinct to cringe, hide, or flee. "What happened?"

It was weird, feeling this kind of fear. He hadn't been afraid like this outside of battle. And for the life of him, he couldn't understand. Why was it so terrifying, the prospect of her possibly hating him? Why did he care so much what she thought of him? He could get any girl (aside from Khrai), whenever he wanted, and he'd been rejected plenty of times as well. But the possibility of rejection didn't terrify him the way it terrified him now, with the very real possibility now looming over him.

The pause seemed to pique Juritsu's suspicions, and his heart plummeted. "What happened, Grimmjow," she demanded.

Grimmjow opened his mouth to reply, but his voice died on his throat. His fate had been sealed from the get-go, that much was obvious. He was wondering if the whole escape-from-Hueco-Mundo-and-live-another-mortal-li fe was a terrible idea after all. Maybe he should've just accepted his fate as a Hollow and died with the rest of them?

"... I'm going to get something that'll fix this right up. I'd like some answers when I get back though," Juritsu was standing up, shooting Grimmjow a glare, before turning and jogging back down the alley, heading off to god only knew where.

The Sexta Espada watched her run off, and felt himself deflate. Leaning against the nearby wall, he slid down to the ground, hanging his head. "Well... I'm fucked." He let out a bitter laugh. "Yea... I probably shoulda seen this coming."

He felt a pressure on his shoulder and looked up, finding Ulquiorra there, a hand on his shoulder. His jaw was all bruised and swollen; it looked _awful_. The Fourth pinched his shoulder, inciting Grimmjow to tear his gaze away from the injury and look him in the eye.

What he found there was apology, reassurance, promise. _I'm sorry. You were right. I'll fix this._ Ulquiorra squeezed his shoulder in an awkward gesture of comfort before sitting back on his knees, and bowing his head forward slightly, looking almost like he was ashamed, or guilty.

Grimmjow felt compelled to speak, regardless of how awkward he suddenly felt. But the concern at the series of events was overriding that. "I... didn't mean to actually... you know," he indicated Ulquiorra's jaw, "Well, I did, but I mean, I didn't think I'd actually _do_... oh hell, Ulquiorra, you should've been blocking that before I even started swinging..."

He let the question hang in the air, knowing full and well that Ulquiorra could understand exactly what it was he was asking. The Fourth's expression was downcast, even as he looked up at met Grimmjow's expression. Carefully, the green-eyed man nodded permissively. _Fine. We'll talk._

Just as Grimmjow opened his mouth, Juritsu reappeared in front of them, a cool glint in her brown eyes, and he wanted to melt into the wall. In one hand, she was grasping a cup of water.

Crouching down in front of Ulquiorra and producing a straw with her free hand, she dipped the straw into the glass and handed it to the pale Espada. "This doesn't look like much, but believe me, you'll feel as good as new in a matter of seconds."

Before either Arrancar could say or do anything, Juritsu's gaze whipped over to Grimmjow, and this time, he did flinch. "You. Me. Talk. Now."

Well crap.

Resignedly, he stood up, following her a few paces away from Ulquiorra. It wasn't much longer before she rounded on him. "Alright, spill it," her tone was no-nonsense, "What the heck happened?"

It took him a moment to find his words, and his heart was hammering in his throat as he practically sealed his fate. "We... got into an argument... basically..."

Juritsu had crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow, "And why did you find it necessary to break his jaw?"

He found himself feeling more and more defensive with each passing moment, "I didn't think I hit him hard enough to actually cause damage."

"Grimmjow, that's no excuse!" she shot back in exasperation, "There's no reason for meaningless violence!"

Meaningless... well, she was right, he hadn't really had a good reason to strike out; a loss of temper was probably one of the worst reasons out there, after all. And he couldn't really defend himself, could he?

"It only causes unnecessary pain," she continued on her rant, and for some reason, she was growing more and more upset, "And... and isn't this kind of thing what you used to do before? Ulquiorra said you changed, that he didn't like the way you changed..."

Grimmjow froze at those words, too horrified to even be furious at Ulquiorra for pretty much telling her every possible thing he _hadn't_ wanted her knowing. And he could see the confusion and hurt in her eyes. She thought he'd been lying to her, pretending to be someone he wasn't... _no no no I swear that's not it please just believe me I'm not like that anymore I left that life I can't go back oh god please don't look at me like that I'm sorry..._

"Juritsu," Ulquiorra's voice came out of nowhere. The Fourth was standing beside Grimmjow, his expression passive and calm. His green-eyed brother glanced at him briefly, before looking back to Juritsu, who was glancing at him with a kind of a frantic hope, as if desperate for reassurance that Grimmjow was Grimmjow and, no, he was no longer an asshole. "It's not what you're thinking, and pardon Grimmjow for not being articulate enough to say so himself." Grimmjow shot the pale man an affronted glare. Not articulate enough... yea, like _you_ have any experience with girls and would totally know what I'm going through right now, you prudish, stupid virgin...

"I told you a few things that he would rather you didn't hear about," Ulquiorra admitted, open and honest and _why are you telling her the truth you **ass**. _"I know he has a temper, and I know that I'm the best at pushing his buttons. I provoked him, even though I knew he would lash out, and that I wouldn't be able to properly defend myself.

"He doesn't want you to think of him as some kind of bloodthirsty freak, because he's _not_, and never really has been. Violent, yes, but always with purpose - even if it was hard to tell from the outside looking in." The pale man stated, and with every word Grimmjow could almost literally feel the situation deflating. Wow, maybe he _did_ have experience with girls... "I shouldn't have betrayed him like that in the first place, and I'm sorry for giving you the wrong impression. I hope you'll forgive us both for this mess."

Juritsu, for a very long moment, looked taken aback, and just as Grimmjow was beginning to wonder whether or not she believed him, a wide smile broke through her features, the brilliance and sudden appearance of it completely stunning him. She looked ridiculously relieved, overly relieved, way too relieved to be normal. And it completely astonished him when she threw her arms around him in a tight embrace.

"Thank god..." he heard her whisper to herself before he heard her say to him directly, "Sorry for doubting you."

It took him a long moment to recover from the shock of her gesture, before carefully returning the embrace. "No, it's okay..." his glance flitted up to Ulquiorra's.

_I still wanna know what's going on with you, you know._

Ulquiorra didn't avert his gaze, instead nodding slowly and tilting his attention towards Juritsu, before looking back at Grimmjow intently. The message was clear; _right now?_

He glanced down at the brunette, inwardly amused that he was absentmindedly smoothing her hair. Geez, it was so sentimental it was almost pathetic. He glanced back up at Ulquiorra. _No, we can talk later, on your terms._

A soft sigh from the pale man indicated his relief, and a slight smile graced his features. Grimmjow couldn't tell if he was mocking him or not, so he settled for a relatively neutral kind of glare.

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**A/N: Another chapter for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!  
**

**- G**


	11. Chapter 11

******Disclaimer: Various concepts and characters have been retrieved from _Dragonball Z_ and _Bleach_ for this story; they belong to Akira Toriyama and Tite Kubo. Please note, however, that the plot, which is an original plot, is unrelated to the events that take place in DBZ and Bleach, meaning this is an AU fic. The OC's and plot belong to myself, and KRenee.**

* * *

**XI**

A few days later, Ulquiorra was walking with Grimmjow back to his apartment. Ulquiorra had elected to spend most of his time at Kaisuki and Juritsu's, but he'd requested the opportunity to stay with Grimmjow the other night. And Grimmjow was only just deciding to go back home for more than five minutes at a time.

They hadn't spoken to each other much since Grimmjow's violent outburst. Grimmjow seemed to be feeling self-conscious about the episode, even though Ulquiorra was completely over it. His blue-haired brother was uncharacteristically quiet the whole way to his apartment.

He jammed the key into the lock and turned it, opening the door and stepping inside, "I'm home." There was no answer, meaning Grimmjow's elusive, nameless roommate was away somewhere. Grimmjow's expression was grim as he muttered something about the absence being expected.

"You can toss your stuff wherever," Grimmjow demonstrated such as he kicked off his shoes and watched as they flew into the living room, "Hell, you can even take Ralph's room. I'd bet he's not even here anymore, him and his stupid, pansy-ass fuck buddies from Heaven..."

Ulquiorra stiffened, "Ralph?" He repeated, taking his shoes off and leaving them by the door, "He's... your roommate?"

Ulquiorra was familiar with Ralph and his (usual) companion, Gideon. Before they had seemingly backed off - probably thinking they should "let Fate have her way," as Angels usually did - Ulquiorra had encountered them. It had been shortly after Lillith had almost succeeded in possessing Grimmjow, the time that he had saved his brother from becoming a Succubus' slave. Gideon had deduced that Ulquiorra was working with Chris (though he had evidently lacked the observational skills to notice the immense amount of hesitation), and while Ralph had had little to do with the short-lived battle, the man had done nothing to try and ease up Gideon's evident tendency towards sadism.

It had been Lilith and Duilio (or Leo, as he preferred to be called) who had rescued him. They'd been looking for him anyway, since he'd gone so far against his orders that it warranted something close to a death sentence, and the Horseman of War had jumped at the opportunity to have a little spat with an Angel of the Lord.

Ulquiorra had been beaten endlessly by Gideon, only to return to Hell and receive an even _worse_ beating from Chris. Needless to say, he didn't exactly consider Raphael to be a trusted ally. Then again, he didn't trust any of the Angels, but that was probably in his Hell-born nature.

"_Was_," Grimmjow spoke from the kitchen as he rummaged through the cabinets trying to figure out what food was even still edible anymore, "I had a run-in with him and his dick friend. Long story short, we aren't friends anymore. And what I wouldn't give to rip Gideon's fucking jaw off."

Ulquiorra glanced into the closet as he hung up his coat, frowning slightly. Two of those coats he recognized, the third he didn't. Ralph was _probably_ still living here, however sporadically. He decided not to mention it to Grimmjow, lest his brother decide to burn everything that didn't belong to him.

"I'll admit, I wouldn't scold you if you did," Ulquiorra stated, closing the closet and heading towards the kitchen, where he'd last heard Grimmjow's voice. His brother had found a can of chili, and was emptying its contents into a saucepan, "Why are you _always_ hungry, Grimmjow? Didn't you eat less than an hour ago?"

"What, you think three helpings of tempura would fill _me_ up?" he cackled, "Not even! Juritsu has no idea."

He paused long enough to grab a spoon and start stirring the chili. "Anyway, I doubt you'd scold me for anything these days, but I take it you're familiar with those angelic twats?"

"After I rescued you from Lillith that time, they caught on to the fact that I was working for Chris," he replied calmly, tracing his fingers around the edge of the counter, "While he takes the Angelic Warrior thing very seriously, Gideon would make a top-notch demon. I don't know anyone short of Lucifer himself who's quite that sadistic." His expression darkened as he directed his gaze at the pot of chili, watching every individual stream of steam.

Grimmjow grimaced at that. "Yea, I got the feeling he was kind of psychotic when he nearly choked me to death for talking shit."

"You're lucky he stopped," he reply grimly, "Considering your usual attitude, I would imagine he was thinking about putting you on the rack."

"Well, his fault for not accepting the fact that he and his bitch friends are doing a shitty job handling this situation," the blue-haired Espada huffed defensively as he turned off the stove, grabbing a bowl and dumping half the pot of chili into it. A smirk graced his features as he continued, "I just can't wait to see the looks on their faces when I show them I wasn't just bullshitting them. By the way, you want some of this?"

Ulquiorra eyed the pot of chili for a moment before shaking his head, "I'll pass." He responded, ignoring the way his stomach twisted indignantly - _feed me! _- and pointed ignored the mildly concerned look Grimmjow gave him. Ulquiorra was well aware of the fact that he hadn't been caught eating in over 72 hours.

He _was_ eating (a little tiny bit every so often), but with no one usually seeing him do so and his obvious and consistent loss of weight, there was definitely reason for concern. He was hungry, sure, but he couldn't keep much down. He could handle small bits of fruit - berries were his go-to for that - and water. Eating much more than that inevitably resulted in him throwing up more than he had consumed.

The Sixth looked at him for a long moment, before turning back to the fridge. "I know you're hungry," he seemed to understand somewhat the situation going on. He hummed as he scanned the food items, "What do you think you can keep down? I've got some grapes... hey, they're still good too!"

Ulquiorra stepped towards him, glancing into the fridge to confirm that they_ were_ actually good and Grimmjow wasn't just stupid at fruit. They were ripe, plump, bright green grapes and they all but glowed in his eyes.

"I'll... have some, sure," he muttered, sincerely praying his stomach would be able to handle it. If he ate slowly, and didn't eat the entire two pound bag, he should be alright... probably. Grimmjow reached into the crisper and pulled out the bag, handing it to him with a "help yourself" grin on his face. It looked more hopeful than anything, but Ulquiorra didn't let that stop him from returning the gesture with a tired smile of his own. He seemed to be getting better at that, for some reason, though he was sure it was still odd in Grimmjow's eyes.

Grimmjow led the way back into the living room, kicking his previously discarded shoes out of his way and further across the room before sitting down on the couch. Ulquiorra joined him, seating himself on the other side of the couch and nibbling on the grapes in silence. He wasn't sure if this was awkward, tense, or just a regular, companionable silence. It felt rather like all of the above.

They sat in silence for only a short while before Grimmjow picked up the remote to the television and switched it on. He flipped through the channels, never stopping for more than a split second. His expression was uninterested, a sideways frown on his face as he repetitively clicked the _next channel_ button. Ulquiorra watched the screen with him, wondering if it was even possible for his nutrition-starved, tired brain to keep up with what he was seeing.

Finally Grimmjow came to a stop on a sports channel, his frown turning into a pleased smile. It looked like a high level soccer match. Ulquiorra tilted his head slightly as he observed, barely able to keep track of who Grimmjow was rooting for. It seemed like he cheered every time someone scored a goal, whether it was his team or not. Assuming, of course, that he had a specific team he was following.

At one point, his brother glanced over at him, noting the mild curiosity mixed with confusion. The next thing he knew, Grimmjow was carefully - albeit speedily - explaining the game that was soccer, and that he picked up interest in it after learning Juritsu liked to play the sport - convenient as _that_ was. Ulquiorra found himself only half-listening as the scattered players ran around the field during a... what was that? Did they call it a corner kick?

It was interesting, the way it played out. Women's soccer, Grimmjow had mentioned in passing, had a strange tendency to be more aggressive than men's soccer, in a more subtle way. He watched the ball sail out of the corner of the field, he saw a really awesome play that ended in some form of horrific bloodshed. One of the forwards had moved to head the incoming ball, only to get kicked in the head by a defender trying to trap the ball with a high kick; the resulting cleat-to-skull blow had resulted in a nasty gash and most likely a concussion.

Grimmjow gone completely silent, his jaw dropped in a mixture of amazement and horror. The cameras zoomed in on the situation, which looked pretty bad. The girl was laying on the ground unmoving; Ulquiorra suspected she was frozen from pain. He'd been in that kind of situation before - where the agony was so dreadful that one couldn't move, even if they wanted to.

He remembered the pain more than the individual incidents. He could perfectly recall to himself exactly how much it had hurt, but he couldn't always remember what was injured or how it had been injured. Ulquiorra's eyes left the screen, lowering to his lap. His stomach was twisting around the three handfuls of grapes that he hadn't meant to eat. He slowly set the bag of fruit down on the coffee table in front of him, a strategy to keep himself from eating any more.

Grimmjow had looked over at him, and had yet to look away. Ulquiorra ignored him, pretending he hadn't noticed. He was sure his brother wasn't going to fall for his terrible acting. Luckily, this time at least, Grimmjow chose to keep his mouth shut. Ulquiorra was secretly thankful for that. He wasn't sure he wanted to disclose right this second.

He watched the replay of the injury about a dozen times, and every time Grimmjow had a new comment to make. Anything from the approximate size of the girl's breasts to the amount of space she had tore across the field in whatever surprising amount of time. Ulquiorra tuned him and his noisy television out, turning his attention out the nearby window. It looked like it would rain today. He wouldn't mind that - it hadn't snowed at all the past winter, which meant that there would be a drought if there wasn't any rainfall during the incoming summer, especially with the heat that was sure to come.

He started when he heard the front door open, a pair of vaguely familiar voices wrenching him out of the thoughts he hadn't quite succumbed to. He turned his attention over to Grimmjow, who had shut off the television and pivoted in his seat with his empty bowl clutched tightly in one hand. Ulquiorra's heart plummeted.

Ralph was home, and by the sounds of it, he had brought company.

"I just need to grab a few things and-..." Ralph trailed off as Grimmjow met his gaze, he and who was most likely Gideon coming to a stop in the archway between the living room and the hall.

It was weird seeing such an enraged glare on Grimmjow's face that _wasn't_ directed at him. He didn't turn to investigate the newcomers any more than he already had, instead shifting back towards the coffee table in front of him and trying not to sink into himself like he wanted to. He was only half-successful. Grimmjow's reiatsu was stirring irritably, as if the Sixth were prepping himself for a battle. Apparently, that run in had left a few more hard feelings than Grimmjow had implied.

"... Grimmjow... it's been a while..." Ralph began, somewhat awkwardly.

"I didn't miss you one bit," Grimmjow shot back hotly, "Nor did I miss your prick friend." Out of the corner of his eye, Ulquiorra watched Grimmjow obnoxiously wave, "How's it going? Still sucking at life?"

"You're lucky I don't obliterate you right here and now, _swine_," Gideon's voice was akin to ice, "As it is, you're harboring a member of Lucifer's army. _Him_ I'm not so likely to spare."

Immediately, Grimmjow was on his feet, fists clenched and at the ready. His blue eyes flashed. "You try saying that again, you uptight piece of shi-..."

His stomach twisted into a tight knot, and his throat constricted tightly. He felt his stomach threatening to rebel, the spasms in his esophagus beginning to make it hard to breathe.

"Kitchen. **Now**." Grimmjow was stalking off, his sudden disappearance startling him. There was shuffling into the general direction of the kitchen, and then, silence.

There was muffled noise for several long minutes, before abruptly, Grimmjow's voice echoed into the living room. "The hell he is! Do you idiots pay _any_ attention at all to what goes on outside your asses?_!_"

From there, the voices continued to increase in volume until all parties involved were more or less bellowing at the top of their lungs.

"That _Hollow_ out there is an agent of Satan! He should not be permitted to even leave this apartment alive!"

"Fuck off! How out-dated is your intel? He's been giving _us_ all sorts info for _months_! I bet I know more about this shit going on than you ever will!"

"You are only defending him because he is of your kind."

"I'd lay him out before you'd even think to, you asshole! He's on **my** side. Now get the fuck out of my house!"

He closed his eyes, wondering if he could block out the sounds of their voices.

_Lucifer's teeth grinding against his bones- his voice cracking as he cried out in pain- "You did this to yourself..."- **I'll kill him, I pro-**_

Ulquiorra's eyes flew open so fast, a hand slowly lifting to press against his lips. His breathing had increased a touch, and he was going to throw up any second now.

"You've got to be the most worthless agents of God I've ever seen! I told you I'd do your job for you, but I can't believe you're actually letting me!" Grimmjow began laughing outright, "Hell at the rate you're going, I'll be taking your place sucking God's dick for you too! Or wait, do I have to go through the ass-kissing phase first?"

"You impudent heathen!" Suddenly, there was a series of loud crashes and shouts from the kitchen.

His stomach lurched violently, and he gagged, barely able to contain himself as he suddenly stood up, stalking out of the living room, down the hall, and into the bathroom. Ulquiorra heard the voices in the kitchen suddenly cease as he slammed the door behind him, collapsing to his knees and heaving up everything he'd just eaten. It paused just long enough for him to inhale before it started up again, his gut clenching and spasms wracking his body. He felt cold, but he could also feel the sweat pricking at his forehead. He absentmindedly reached up and flushed courteously - he'd been through this regime so many times, it was getting to be a routine.

His entire body was trembling uncontrollably, his eyes squeezed shut. Ulquiorra decided then that his personal hell - after he died again - would probably be an eternity of vomiting. Flashes were lighting up in front of his eyes, some with images burned into his mind, others without.

_Chris never passed up the opportunity to hurt him. Lillith was less about the physical pain and more about the psychological. He'd done everything he could to obey, but sometimes it just wasn't enough. It **usually** wasn't enough. No one would rescue him, not even Grimmjow. **Especially not Grimmjow, he hates you. **Please stop I'll try harder next time I swear I** swear** just please don't hurt me again..._

The dots in front of his vision were large and blinding when he finally opened his eyes again. He sucked in a breath and his vision immediately started to clear. He heard a faint knock on the door and groaned as he slowly started to pick himself up off the floor. He didn't make it very far before his knees gave out and his fell back against the wall - _hard_ - and wound up back on the floor. Clearly, he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Oi... Ulquiorra..." it was Grimmjow. The concern and hesitation in his voice was as clear as day, even if he was trying to act relatively light-hearted, "You still alive, right?"

_"You have to kill him."_

_"I will. I promise."_

He swallowed the lump in his throat and cleared his throat, "I'm fine," he replied, ignoring the shaky tone of his voice and shifting into a more comfortable position, "I just can't get up right now."

He had hoped that such words would reassure Grimmjow. Judging by the restless shifting on the other side of the door, he had managed to do the complete opposite. _Oops._

"... You... can't get up right now..."

He let out a distracted sigh, looking around the bathroom. Was there anything he could grab to haul himself to his feet? Did he even have enough strength for that? He frowned, looking back to the door, "I just... afterwards, I can't get up. My legs get too weak and... I guess I'm a little low on blood sugar."

"Oh for fuck's..." The door opened, and Grimmjow came in, looking slightly disgruntled albeit concerned for the pale Espada. Sexta crouched in front of him, checking him over for a long moment before offering a hand.

"You can go be feeble on the damned couch."

"I can't..." Ulquiorra stared at the outstretched hand, "I won't be able to walk, Grimmjow. I can barely see straight. Give me a few minutes and I'll be fine."

Sexta let out an exaggerated sigh of exasperation before plopping down on the tile across from him. "If you'd rather be all weak in the knees on linoleum instead of a comfy couch, that's fine by me."

"That couch smells like your feet," Ulquiorra retorted half-heartedly, "I wouldn't call such an environment comfortable."

"Hey, I'll have you know that my feet smell fucking beautiful now that I don't have to wear the stupid outfit Aizen picked out for me. I can wear actual socks now."

"You are the _only_ spirit in all of the universe that is capable of producing a _body odor_, Grimmjow," he grunted, briefly lifting his arm to test the relative jelly-ness of their musculature.

The blue-haired Espada rolled his eyes and huffed before muttering "You haven't been in Nnoitra's room..." before falling silent. Ulquiorra lowered his arm slowly, watching the way it trembled from the resistance of gravity. At first, the gap in his power hadn't been much of a bothersome thing. He could still generate ceros, he could still use shunpo, he still had a certain amount of Hierro - enough to prevent someone weaker than him from breaking bone. But, at least as recently as his possession by Lucifer, his power seemed to be steadily lessening. He almost felt like he had less of himself than before, and he wondered absently if his reiatsu would continue to deplete until he didn't have the energy to sustain his spirit.

He glanced up at Grimmjow, who was staring at him with an odd expression in his eyes. Should he tell Grimmjow about his little "imminent death" pet theory? Or would it be better to hide it from him? His brother had become so complicated, Ulquiorra could never be sure what situation would result in more anger.

_"No, besides anger, you retard."_

It had been strange after Aizen's defeat. Halibel had taken it upon herself to keep watch over Las Noches, with Ulquiorra staying loyally by her side. The few remaining stragglers from that war had all come to Las Noches seeking a refuge where they'd be surrounded by fellow Arrancar, fellow survivors of that miserable reign beneath the Shinigami. Neliel had eventually made her way there, her companions having been killed in the cross fire between Soul Society and Hueco Mundo after the battle had ended. They'd wanted to wipe out all the remaining Arrancar, but Kurosaki Ichigo - strangely enough - had appealed for them. It had been shortly after that when Grimmjow had disappeared. No one had even noticed his absence at first, but then it had become starkly obvious. Grimmjow had become quiet after that battle, but not so quiet that he'd seemed transparent.

And then, without notifying anyone, he'd just disappeared. The battle had changed everyone who'd survived it. But Grimmjow, it seemed, had been changed the most. And Ulquiorra was happy for him, because no one else had been so brave as to try living again. He'd always considered his brother to be a low-life, idiotic thug, but it had become steadily more and more clear to him that Grimmjow was smart, and thoughtful, and that there was - and probably always had been - more to him than anger and fighting.

His throat clenched briefly with a wave of sudden depression. Part of him had wished that Grimmjow had been there with him. Grimmjow would've stood a better chance at surviving that tragedy in one piece.

_Grimmjow wouldn't have given Neliel up in order to save himself._

"Hey..." Grimmjow spoke up, interrupting Ulquiorra's thoughts. He glanced over at the Sixth, who was giving him a curious albeit reluctant, glance. "Why do you keep getting sick?"

"That's..." he began slowly, wondering if there was a reasonable way of phrasing this that didn't make him sound like he had PTSD and bulimia. He averted his gaze to the floor near Grimmjow's knee, "Well... Kaisuki said it was... something like, uh... Post-traumatic stress disorder. She said the symptoms matched, I mean," he quickly amended his statement. He _didn't_ want to sound crazy, or like his experience had been so dreadful that it'd left him mentally impaired. He had just finished convincing himself that he'd been overreacting all this time, so he wasn't about to let anything pull him back the other way.

"It just..." he finally managed to figure out what he'd been more or less meaning to say from the start, "It just happens when I start over-thinking a stressful situation..."

Grimmjow gave him a pointed look for a moment before sighing and glancing around the room. He looked like he felt awkward, for whatever reason. Ulquiorra shifted his leg, discovering that he felt like he could move again. Wordlessly, he reached up to the counter beside him and dragged himself to his feet. Grimmjow quickly took the hint and stood with him, looking as if he was prepared to catch his comrade should he collapse again.

They went back to the living room. Ulquiorra's legs were more than happy to oblige his desire to fall into the couch. It didn't really smell like Grimmjow's feet. It smelled like musk and deodorant, but it wasn't a bad smell. Just... masculine. His brother sat down on the other end of the couch as Ulquiorra was pulling his knees up to his chest and locking his arms around them.

"What..." the blur-haired Espada began but trailed off, looking hesitant once more. Obviously, Grimmjow could tell this was a delicate subject. Ulquiorra looked over at him expectantly, hoping that his eyes weren't betraying actual thoughts on the subject. He had promised this conversation would take place, and since he could count on himself to never start it, he thought he might as well let Grimmjow do it for him.

Grimmjow caught his gaze, looking uncertain if not a bit uncomfortable. At the same time though, it was clear that it was important to him that he learned the truth. "What... happened?"

Ulquiorra found himself chewing his lip, wondering if it was plausible for there to even be words in the dictionary to describe what'd happened. He lowered his head slightly, frowning as he considered how to start... _where_ to start. So much had happened, and in a fairly short period of time.

He swallowed, and it felt like he would choke on his heart. Just thinking about where he might start was going to give him a stroke. This wasn't... could he even _talk_ about this? He couldn't find any words at all.

"It's... hard to describe." He muttered uncertainly, more to his lap than to Grimmjow, "It would be easier to... show you."

There was a long, tense pause before Grimmjow finally spoke up. "Okay, show me."

...

_Fire and blood colored the air with dark smoke and splatters of blood, screaming echoed through the grand hall of Las Noches. In the center of the carnage was a huge beast, clawing open Arrancar with his clawed hands while ripping into the flesh of others with his blood-smeared jaws. Those who weren't fighting were trying to run, but none made it very far. He could feel blood oozing down the side of his face from a wound on his temple - **the wall had blasted open and he'd been standing too close; the impact against the wall made a sickening crunch and he hit the floor, not intending to get back up.**_

_He hadn't even been able to process what was going on. Everyone was being slaughtered right in front of him. Blood, everywhere, the stench of burning flesh, the horrible sound of cracking and crunching bone. His stomach lurched. **Oh god**._

**_Halibel appeared out of nowhere, thrusting a sobbing, ex-Tercera into his arms and commanding him to run, to take Neliel tu Oderschvank and run run run and don't look back._**

_His survival instinct kept him from arguing and he obeyed, taking Neliel and running running running and never daring to look back. The air was thin and lacking a sufficient amount of spirit particles. His lungs protested the abuse, acting as if they wanted to collapse or something. He had to stop a few hundred miles sooner than he'd wanted to, gasping as he finally permitted himself to put his charge down._

_It'd been a miserable, lonely, and tiring two days, but it hadn't compared to the months that followed._

_They caught up to him shortly after he'd moved Neliel for the umpteenth time. He'd been wandering the desolate landscape, looking for something he could give her to fuel her lacking energy when he'd felt the sudden, impossibly fast approach of the Devil. He'd turned around, drawing his sword just barely in time to half-block a blow that would've surely torn him in half. As it was, it split Murciélago messily, sending the tip of the blade flying and embedding in a nearby rock wall. Shards of metal cut through the air, forcing him to close his eyes to prevent damage, but that left him wide open and Lucifer wasn't about to miss a golden opportunity like this one. He heard the attack coming, but couldn't dodge it in time. _

_The massive arm struck him in the side, he felt bones crack and fracture in his chest, his arm, his shoulder. He smashed into the rock wall, and anything that had only cracked chose that moment to fully snap. His head smashed into the rocks, a head-splitting blow that would've killed anyone else. He opened his eyes but he couldn't see he couldn't **see** and his body was aching and burning and he could feel tears stinging the corners of his blind eyes and he couldn't breathe oh god the pressure of the swelling around his broken ribs was making it so much harder to breathe in this impossibly thin air._

_His vision began to clear, but everything was still blurry. He barely managed to roll out of the way of another lunge, but he couldn't avoid the second. Lucifer's clawed palm smashed into his chest, cracking more bone and crushing him to the ground. The weight on his body was **immense** he couldn't move couldn't breathe he couldn't no god please all he could think of was the screams of agony that had filled the halls of Las Noches, the splatters of blood and the stench of burning flesh **I don't want that please please someone help**. No one would come, he knew that, but he prayed anyway, and when Lucifer leaned forward and exhaled a heavy, hot breath of decay into his face, his lips parted and he was speaking words in a language he hardly remembered **I'll do anything please don't kill me I'll do anything I swear just please...**_

_Lucifer let out a snarl of a laugh, grinning to bare both rows of razor sharp teeth, his jaws splitting open **no no no no no no** it was like a vortex in that mouth **no no no no no** he was going to die **no no no no no** **I don't want to die**._

_The weight of the Devil's huge body disappeared, and someone new stood over him. His gentle smile couldn't hide the darkness in the depths of his blue eyes, nor could his fair features disguise his malice._

_"We can use this."_

_"Show us where she is."_

_He led them to Neliel, stopped at the entrance of the cave he'd left his comrade in. He heard Neliel's voice from the darkness, calling out to ask if that was Ulqui-kun. He couldn't reply. He couldn't. Lucifer let out a booming laugh and raced into the cave. Chris grabbed his arm and dragged him forward, leading him further into the cave to show him._

_Neliel screamed, and wailed, and his heart wrenched. He wanted to undo it. Take everything back. Let them kill him, but spare Neliel. Her energies as a toddler were so miniscule compared to when she was an adult, they might've left Hueco Mundo without her ever being found._

_When her hazel eyes swept around the cave, blood smeared across her ripped clothes and pouring from the wounds inflicted on her body, she saw him. Her expression was frightened, horrified, but more than anything else, he saw the betrayal in her eyes._

_He couldn't even apologize. She died alone and in pain, and he... _

_He didn't protect her. _

_Hell was dark and horrible, the stench of blood and decay never left him. Chris had him pinned down, had Lillith reach into the Hollow hole on his chest and tear out a baseball sized lump of something. She said it was part of him, that they'd keep an eye on it for him until later. Murciélago shrieked indignantly, in pain, and he felt it when they forced the ball of light into the blade, he screamed and screamed and he couldn't catch his breath, and then Chris was standing over him with a delicate smile on his face, quoting a verse from that holy book:_

_"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord."_

_Endless, endless pain, spiraling into darkness, **I'll do whatever you say.** A familiar blue-haired comrade, someone he'd forgotten about._

_"You have to kill him."_

_"I will..."_

Reality was as abrupt as a flash of light. Grimmjow found himself gasping for air, sweat coating his skin, and heart hammering in his throat. It was like waking up from a nightmare. Only, he realized as bile rose up into his throat, it wasn't a nightmare for Ulquiorra - it'd actually happened to him.

The silence was deafening. And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't think of any way to break it. What could possibly be said to make **that** any better?

The lapse in conversation continued for several long moments before Grimmjow found the courage to attempt to use his voice. "J... Jesus," he managed to croak out through the lump in his throat, "I had... no idea..."

Ulquiorra took a long time to reply. There was a deep tremor that seemed to run through every muscle of his thin body, and his face was shadowed with exhaustion. That technique of his had taken a lot more out of him than Grimmjow could've expected.

Finally, the Cuarta let out a soft, shaky chuckle, "That was the whole point." He heaved a sigh and leaned back into the couch, looking like he was working pretty hard to calm his nerves.

Grimmjow shuddered at the images still fresh in his mind. "So... you were supposed to kill me, huh..."

Ulquiorra didn't look up, but Grimmjow could see the tension in his brother's jaw, "Yes... I was going to, more than once. Never could follow through, though."

It took a while for the words the sink in, along with the images. Aside from the horror he felt witnessing the atrocities that occurred to a place that had been his home for so long, Grimmjow felt an unsettling guilt. _I should've been there_... the nagging thought kept replaying over and over in his head. Even if no one actually liked him, they were still all kin. And they were all taken apart by the giant, lumbering _fuck_ that was the King.

The Sixth Espada clenched his fists so tightly, his knuckles were white. Inwardly, his reiatsu was aburptly simmering with his rage, almost as if it were screaming for release, for blood.

_"The number of Hollow will gradually return to normal. It won't be empty forever."_

It wouldn't be the same. There wouldn't be a Halibel whom he could shamelessly flirt with. He wouldn't be able to pick fights with stupid Nnoitra. Hell, he'd never be able to snap impatiently at a wailing Neliel to "shut the fuck up already!" ever again.

As annoying and dysfunctional as they all were, they had, somehow, become a family of sorts for him. And that would be gone forever. He really had lost most everything when Lucifer had gone through and destroyed Hueco Mundo.

The fucking bastard would pay, he'd see to that. They would _all_ pay.

"Grimmjow," Ulquiorra voice was quiet, almost startling him with how it so abruptly shattered the tense silence that had fallen upon the two of them, "Don't... don't take this on. You have something _good_ to look forward to. I don't... want to be responsible for ruining what you've worked so hard to gain."

Grimmjow snorted, finding Ulquiorra's comment humorous for some strange reason. Maybe the emotional overload had finally caused him to snap. "If by 'good' you mean a half-alien chick, a bounty on your head from home, and being on the run from the entire universe, then I think that you need a vacation."

Ulquiorra let out a breathy chuckle, "When you finish graduate school, you'll be able to put all that and 'prevented the apocalypse' on your resume." He replied, "You'll have more job offers than you have time remaining in your lifespan."

Yea, Lucifer might have killed off most everyone he knew and sort of cared about. But at least he still had this fucker. And, as he busted out laughing at Ulquiorra's quip, deep down he made a decision. He'd be damned if Cuarta went off and got himself killed, so he wasn't about to let that happen. He'd figure out a way to get Ulquiorra's power back, and they'd go and disembowel the Devil himself. With Juritsu and Khrai and any other kiddies that wanted to tag along.

* * *

**A/N: And with this chapter, you are now officially caught up. We'll be starting XII very soon - I've got the first section of the chapter plotted out.  
**

**Anyway, what do you think so far? I'm gonna go ahead and say that Grimmjow and Ulquiorra have the ultimate OTB (that would be Only True Bromance). I don't know what _KRenee_ thinks (because she writes Ulquiorra), but I friggen love writing out these interactions between the two Espada.**

**- G**


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